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In the religious texts of the Latter Day Saint movement, Master Mahan is a title assumed first by Cain and later by his descendant Lamech. The title indicates that Cain and Lamech were each the "master" of a "great secret" whereby they covenanted with Satan to kill for personal gain.〔Pearl of Great Price, Book of Moses 5:29-31, 49; Inspired Version, Genesis 5:14-16, 35.〕 The term is found in Joseph Smith's translation of the Bible, Genesis chapter 5 (currently published by the Community of Christ), and as an excerpt in the Pearl of Great Price, chapter 5 of the Book of Moses, a religious text of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). Scholars approaching the issue from a secular perspective, who 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.〔; ; ; ; ; .〕 Another suggestion is that the term is related to "Mahoun", a pejorative reference to Muhammad during the Middle Ages which eventually became associated with witchcraft by Smith's era.〔; .〕 Apologists, however, generally argue that references to "Master Mahan" were restored by Smith from missing parts of the Bible, and therefore the term has middle-Eastern roots. Consequently, the LDS Church's publications suggest that the term "Mahan" could mean either "mind", "destroyer", or "great one",〔Book of Moses 5:31 footnote d; .〕 and one prominent Mormon apologist speculates that the term is related to Arabic and Sanskrit words meaning "keeper of a great secret".〔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 Arabic word "Mustirr" ("keeper of secret") and "Mahan" is related to the Sanskrit word "maha" ("great").〕 ==References in the Joseph Smith translation of the Bible== The reference to "Master Mahan" is found in a revision by Joseph Smith of Genesis chapter 5 of the Bible, now published in the Inspired Version of the Bible (I.V.), Genesis chapter 5, and in the Pearl of Great Price (PGP), Book of Moses chapter 5. The passage discussing the term begins after the ritual sacrifice by Cain and Abel, when God accepted Abel's sacrifice of a sheep, but not Cain's sacrifice of crops.〔I.V. Genesis 5:6–7; PGP (Moses 5:20–21 ).〕 According to this passage, the angry Cain made a secret pact with Satan, who asked Cain to: :()wear 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.〔I.V. Genesis 5:15; PGP (Moses 5:29 ).〕 After entering this 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; PGP (Moses 5:30 ).〕 Then, the passage comments, "Wherefore Cain was called Master Mahan; and he gloried in his wickedness."〔 This arrangement was referred to as a "secret combination".〔I.V. Genesis 5:37; PGP (Moses 5:51 ).〕 Later, the passage states that Cain's descendant Lamech had "slain a man to () wounding, and a young man to () 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."〔I.V. Genesis 5:35; PGP (Moses 5:49 ).〕 When a man named Irad, one of the sons of Enoch who knew about Lamech's secret pact, revealed that secret to others, the passage states that Lamech killed him to enforce the blood oath of secrecy.〔I.V. Genesis 5:36; PGP (Moses 5:49–50 ).〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Master Mahan」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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