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, generally suggest that the term is related to "Master Mason," the highest degree of the Blue Lodge of freemasonry.[2] Another suggestion is that the term is related to "Mahoun," a pejorative reference to Muhammad during the Middle Ages that eventually became associated with witchcraft by Smith's era.[3]Apologists, 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,"[4] and the prominent LDS scholar Hugh Nibley has speculated that the term is related to Arabic and Sanskrit words meaning "keeper of a great secret."[5]
Swear unto me by thy throat, and if thou tell it thou shalt die; and swear thy bretheren by their heads, and by the living God, that they tell it not; for if they tell it, they shall surely die; and this that thy father may not know it; and this day I will deliver thy brother Abel into thine hands.[7]
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."[8] Then, the passage comments, "Wherefore Cain was called Master Mahan; and he gloried in his wickedness."[8] The arrangement was referred to as a "secret combination".[9]
Later, the passage states that Cain's descendant Lamech had "slain a man to [his] wounding, and a young man to [his] hurt," 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."[10] When a man named Irad, one of the sons of Enoch 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.[11]
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,'"[12] but no further explanation is provided. In referring to the footnote, Matthew B. Brown, 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)."[13]
Some commentators have suggested that "Master Mahan" is derived or related to "Master Mason," the highest degree of the Blue Lodge of Freemasonry.[14][15][16][17] Brown stated, "Anti-Mormon critics have long claimed that Master Mahan is a thinly veiled variation of Master Mason" and claims "They believe that the presence of this title in LDS scripture clearly demonstrates that Joseph Smith plagiarized Masonic material for his creative ventures."[13]
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."[18]
^Hugh Nibley, Ancient Documents and the Pearl of Great Price, p. 12. Nibley suggests that the word "Master" is not the English word "master" but derives from the Arabic word "Mustirr" ("keeper of secret") and "Mahan" is related to the Sanskrit word "maha" ("great").
