A parallel would be furnished by Ekur, which signifies both 'temple' and 'earth,'[203] and is also one of the names of the gathering-place of the dead.

Gula, being the goddess of the nether world who restores the dead to life, would be appropriately called 'the lady of the nether world.' One should like to know more of Pap-u (the phonetic reading unknown), who is called the offspring of Eshara, and 'the lord of the boundary.' Eshara, as Jensen has shown,[204] is a poetical name for earth.

The god Ninib, in his capacity as a god of agriculture, is called the 'product of Eshara.'[205] Pap-u, therefore, must be a god somewhat of the same character--a conclusion which is borne out by the description given of him as the protector of the boundary.

He is probably one of the numerous forms of boundary gods that are met with among all nations.

That we do not encounter more in Babylonia is due to the decided tendency that has been noted towards a centralization of power in a limited number of deities.