Master Mahan, in the religious texts of the
Latter Day Saint movement
The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the LDS movement, LDS restorationist movement, or Smith–Rigdon movement) is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded by Jo ...
, is a title assumed first by
Cain
Cain ''Káïn''; ar, قابيل/قايين, Qābīl/Qāyīn is a Biblical figure in the Book of Genesis within Abrahamic religions. He is the elder brother of Abel, and the firstborn son of Adam and Eve, the first couple within the Bible. He wa ...
and later by his descendant
Lamech. The title indicates that Cain and Lamech were each the "master" of a "great secret" in which they covenanted with
Satan
Satan,, ; grc, ὁ σατανᾶς or , ; ar, شيطانالخَنَّاس , also known as Devil in Christianity, the Devil, and sometimes also called Lucifer in Christianity, is an non-physical entity, entity in the Abrahamic religions ...
to kill for personal gain. The term is found in
Joseph Smith
Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader and founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. When he was 24, Smith published the Book of Mormon. By the time of his death, 14 years later, he ...
's
translation of the Bible
The Bible has been translated into many languages from the biblical languages of Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek. all of the Bible has been translated into 724 languages, the New Testament has been translated into an additional 1,617 languages, and ...
in
Genesis
Genesis may refer to:
Bible
* Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind
* Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...
5 (currently published by the
Community of Christ
The Community of Christ, known from 1872 to 2001 as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (RLDS), is an American-based international church, and is the second-largest denomination in the Latter Day Saint movement. The churc ...
) and in the
Pearl of Great Price (in Chapter 5 of the
Book of Moses
The Book of Moses, dictated by Joseph Smith, is part of the scriptural canon for some in the Latter Day Saint movement. The book begins with the "Visions of Moses," a prologue to the story of the creation and the fall of man (Moses chapter 1), a ...
), a
religious text
Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They differ from literature by being a compilation or discussion of beliefs, mythologies, ritual prac ...
of
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...
(LDS Church).
Critics, who approach the issue from a secular perspective and argue that Smith's translation of the Bible was influenced by his cultural environment, including strong local
anti-Masonry
Anti-Masonry (alternatively called anti-Freemasonry) is "avowed opposition to Freemasonry",''Oxford English Dictionary'' (1979 ed.), p. 369. which has led to multiple forms of religious discrimination, violent persecution, and suppression in so ...
, generally suggest that the term is related to "
Master Mason
Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...
," the highest degree of the Blue Lodge of
freemasonry
Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...
. Another suggestion is that the term is related to "
Mahoun," a pejorative reference to
Muhammad
Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد; 570 – 8 June 632 Common Era, CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Muhammad in Islam, Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet Divine inspiration, di ...
during the
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
that eventually became associated with
witchcraft
Witchcraft traditionally means the use of magic or supernatural powers to harm others. A practitioner is a witch. In medieval and early modern Europe, where the term originated, accused witches were usually women who were believed to have us ...
by Smith's era.
Apologists
Apologetics (from Greek , "speaking in defense") is the religious discipline of defending religious doctrines through systematic argumentation and discourse. Early Christian writers (c. 120–220) who defended their beliefs against critics and ...
, however, generally argue that references to "Master Mahan" were restored by Smith from missing parts of the Bible and that the term thus has
Middle Eastern roots. Consequently, the LDS Church's publications suggest that the term "Mahan" can mean "mind," "destroyer," or "great one," and the prominent LDS scholar
Hugh Nibley
Hugh Winder Nibley (March 27, 1910 – February 24, 2005) was an American scholar and an apologist of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) who was a professor at Brigham Young University (BYU) for nearly 50 years. He was a ...
has speculated that the term is related to
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...
and
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...
words meaning "keeper of a great secret."
Joseph Smith Translation of Bible
The reference to "Master Mahan" is found in a revision by
Joseph Smith
Joseph Smith Jr. (December 23, 1805June 27, 1844) was an American religious leader and founder of Mormonism and the Latter Day Saint movement. When he was 24, Smith published the Book of Mormon. By the time of his death, 14 years later, he ...
of
Genesis
Genesis may refer to:
Bible
* Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind
* Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...
5 of the
Bible
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
, now published in the
Inspired Version of the Bible (I.V.),
Genesis
Genesis may refer to:
Bible
* Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind
* Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...
5, and in Chapter 5 the
Pearl of Great Price (PGP),
Book of Moses
The Book of Moses, dictated by Joseph Smith, is part of the scriptural canon for some in the Latter Day Saint movement. The book begins with the "Visions of Moses," a prologue to the story of the creation and the fall of man (Moses chapter 1), a ...
. The passage discussing the term begins after the
ritual sacrifice
Sacrifice is the offering of material possessions or the lives of animals or humans to a deity as an act of propitiation or worship. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Greeks, and possibly exis ...
by
Cain and Abel
In the biblical Book of Genesis, Cain ''Qayīn'', in pausa ''Qāyīn''; gr, Κάϊν ''Káïn''; ar, قابيل/قايين, Qābīl / Qāyīn and Abel ''Heḇel'', in pausa ''Hāḇel''; gr, Ἅβελ ''Hábel''; ar, هابيل, Hāb ...
, when God accepted Abel's sacrifice of a sheep but not Cain's sacrifice of crops. According to the passage, the angry Cain made a secret pact with
Satan
Satan,, ; grc, ὁ σατανᾶς or , ; ar, شيطانالخَنَّاس , also known as Devil in Christianity, the Devil, and sometimes also called Lucifer in Christianity, is an non-physical entity, entity in the Abrahamic religions ...
, who asked Cain:
After entering the secret pact with Satan, Cain said, "Truly I am Mahan, the master of this great secret, that I may murder to get gain."
[I.V. Genesis 5:16; PG]
Moses 5:30
Then, the passage comments, "Wherefore Cain was called Master Mahan; and he gloried in his wickedness."
The arrangement was referred to as a "
secret combination".
Later, the passage states that Cain's descendant
Lamech had "slain a man to
iswounding, and a young man to
ishurt," and Lamech "entered into a covenant with Satan, after the manner of Cain, wherein he became Master Mahan, master of the great secret which was administered unto Cain by Satan." When a man named Irad, one of the sons of
Enoch
Enoch () ''Henṓkh''; ar, أَخْنُوخ ', Qur'ān.html"_;"title="ommonly_in_Qur'ān">ommonly_in_Qur'ānic_literature__'_is_a_biblical_figure_and_Patriarchs_(Bible).html" "title="Qur'ānic_literature.html" ;"title="Qur'ān.html" ;"title="o ...
who knew about Lamech's secret pact, revealed the secret to others, the passage states that Lamech killed him to enforce the blood oath of secrecy.
Theories about etymology
A footnote to Moses 5:31 in the LDS Church edition of the
Pearl of Great Price states, "'Mind,' 'destroyer,' and 'great one' are possible meanings of the roots evident in 'Mahan,'" but no further explanation is provided. In referring to the footnote,
Matthew B. Brown
Matthew B. Brown (August 29, 1964 – October 5, 2011) was a Latter-day Saint (Mormon) author and historian whose emphasis was on the history and doctrine of Joseph Smith and his successors through Brigham Young.
Biographical background
Brown wa ...
, a Mormon apologist, has stated that he believes that "Mahan" means "destroyer" because "the Hebrew word ''maha'' means 'destroy,' and the addition of an ''n'' would make the word a noun. Hence, ''maha(n) = destroy(er)''."
Some commentators have suggested that "Master Mahan" is derived or related to "
Master Mason
Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...
," the highest degree of the Blue Lodge of
Freemasonry
Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...
. Brown stated, "Anti-Mormon critics have long claimed that ''Master Mahan'' is a thinly veiled variation of ''Master Mason''" and believes that "the presence of this title in LDS scripture clearly demonstrates that Joseph Smith plagiarized Masonic material for his creative ventures."
D. Michael Quinn has suggested that interpretation to "ignore textual and linguistic context" of the passage and, as an alternative, he favors the interpretation of the phrase's derivation from "Mahoun."
In popular culture
In the video game ''
Assassin's Creed II
''Assassin's Creed II'' is a 2009 action-adventure video game developed by Ubisoft Montréal and published by Ubisoft. It is the second major installment in the ''Assassin's Creed'' series, and the sequel to 2007's '' Assassin's Creed''. The g ...
'', the player is required to find and decode "glyphs" in the game world that reveal more of the game's plot. Decoding the glyph at the
Ospedale degli Innocenti
The Ospedale degli Innocenti (;) 'Hospital of the Innocents', also known in old Tuscan dialect as the ''Spedale degli Innocenti'', is a historic building in Florence, Italy. It was designed by Filippo Brunelleschi, who received the commission in ...
in Florence will begin a puzzle sequence in which Moses 5:31 is quoted.
See also
*
Mormonism and Freemasonry
The relationship between Mormonism and Freemasonry began early in the life of Joseph Smith, founder of the Latter Day Saint movement. Smith's older brother, Hyrum, and possibly his father were Freemasons while the family lived near Palmyra, Ne ...
*
Secret combination (Latter Day Saints)
*
Deal with the Devil
A deal with the Devil (also called a Faustian bargain or Mephistophelian bargain) is a cultural motif exemplified by the legend of Faust and the figure of Mephistopheles, as well as being elemental to many Christian traditions. According to t ...
References
Sources
* .
* .
* .
* .
*.
* .
*.
{{ref end
Anti-Masonry
Cain and Abel
Mormonism and Freemasonry
Latter Day Saint terms
Satan
Pearl of Great Price (Mormonism)