Lamech (in Hebrew לֶמֶך Lemmech) is the name of two men appearing in the genealogies of Adam in the book of Genesis. One Lemmech, son of Methushael, the sixth generation descendant of Cain, was responsible for the "Song of the Sword." The other Lemmech, son of Methushelah, an eighth generation descendant of Seth, was the father of Noah. Because of the similarities between the two lines, some critical scholarship regards both Lamechs as one and the same individual. Many conservative scholars see no reason to confuse the two. The word Hebrew most likely means to cross over, referring to the Semitic people crossing over the Euphrates River. ... The generations of Adam are the two lines of descent from Adam, both ending in the name Lamech, which are given in Genesis. ... Genesis (Hebrew: , Greek: Γένεσις, having the meanings of birth, creation, cause, beginning, source and origin) is the first book of the Torah, the first book of the Tanakh and also the first book of the Christian Old Testament. ... Methusael (Hebrew מְתוּשָׁאֵל champion of God, Standard Hebrew MÉ™tuÅ¡aʼel, Tiberian Hebrew Məṯûšāʼēl) is the Biblical name given in Genesis 4:18 of a descendant of Cain, son of Mehujael and father of Lamech. ... Cain killing Abel, from a 15th century manuscript. ... This article is about the Biblical character. ... Seth or Shet (Hebrew: שֵׁת, Standard Å et, Tiberian ; Arabic: شيث Shith or Shiyth; Placed; appointed), in the Book of Genesis of the Hebrew Bible, is the third listed son of Adam and Eve and brother of Cain and Abel and is the only other son mentioned by name. ... Noahs Ark, Französischer Meister (The French Master), Magyar Szépmüvészeti Múzeum, Budapest. ...

Lamech, son of Methushael, is also noted as the first polygamist mentioned in the Bible. Methusael (Hebrew מְתוּשָׁאֵל champion of God, Standard Hebrew Mətušaʼel, Tiberian Hebrew Məṯûšāʼēl) is the Biblical name given in Genesis 4:18 of a descendant of Cain, son of Mehujael and father of Lamech. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... For other uses, see Bible (disambiguation). ...

Biblical context

Sandwiched between two genealogical lines, the passage describing Lamech, son of Methushael, descendant of Cain and his children is fairly substantive: Methusael (Hebrew מְתוּשָׁאֵל champion of God, Standard Hebrew Mətušaʼel, Tiberian Hebrew Məṯûšāʼēl) is the Biblical name given in Genesis 4:18 of a descendant of Cain, son of Mehujael and father of Lamech. ... In stories common to the Abrahamic religions, Cain or Káyin (קַיִן / קָיִן spear Standard Hebrew Qáyin, Tiberian Hebrew Qáyin / Qāyin; Arabic قايين Qāyīn in the Arabic Bible; قابيل Qābīl in Islam) is the eldest son of Adam and Eve, and the first man born in creation...

Lamekh had two wives: Adah, and Tsilah. Adah gave birth to Yaval, the father of tent-dwellers, and cattle owners. His brother was Yuval, the father of harpists, and pipers. Tsilah, on the other hand, gave birth to Tuval-Qayin, who instructed the artificers of brass and iron. Tuval-Qayin's sister was Na'amah. And Lamekh said to Adah and Tsilah, his wives:

Hear my voice: ye wives of Lamekh, hearken unto my speech:

For I have slain a man to my wounding, and a young man to my hurt.

If Qayin shall be avenged sevenfold, truly Lamekh seventy-sevenfold.

-Genesis 4:19-24 in paraphrase The following tables list men and women described as father or mother of something. ... This does not cite its references or sources. ...

Genesis 5:25-31 records that Lamech, son of Methushelah, was 182 years old at the birth of Noah; and that he lived for another 595 years after this, making his age at death 777 years (or just a few years before the Flood). With such numbers in this geneaological account, calculations such as those of Archbishop Ussher would suggest that Adam was still alive for about the first 50 years of Lamech's life. This article is about the Biblical character. ... Noahs Ark, Französischer Meister (The French Master), Magyar Szépmüvészeti Múzeum, Budapest. ... The Deluge by Gustave Doré. The story of a Great Flood sent by a deity or deities to destroy civilization as an act of divine retribution is a widespread theme in myths. ... James Ussher (also spelled Usher) (January 4, 1581–March 21, 1656) was Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland between 1625–1656 and a prolific religious scholar who most famously published a chronology which dated creation from 4004 BC. Ussher was born in Dublin, Ireland into a... Michelangelos The Creation of Adam, a fresco on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, shows God creating Adam, with Eve in His arm. ...

The names

There are various suggestions of the correct translations for the names:

The older Septuagint, unlike the Masoretic Text, does not present the name Tubal rather than Tubal-Cain. Hebrew redirects here. ... Akkadian (lišānum akkadītum) was a Semitic language (part of the greater Afro-Asiatic language family) spoken in ancient Mesopotamia, particularly by the Assyrians and Babylonians. ... Categories: Hebrew Bible/Tanakh-related stubs | Torah people ... Zillah, (Tzillah in Hebrew shadow), in the Book of Genesis, was one of the wives of Cains descendant Lamech, and mother of Tubalcain and Naamah. ... Jabal (or Jabel) is the name of a Biblical person, son of Lamech, a descendant of Cain. ... In the Bible, Jubal was a son of Cains descendant Lamech and his wife Adah. ... Tubal-Cain, or Tubalcain, (Tuval Kayin in Hebrew), is a figure in the Book of Genesis, who functions as a culture hero who is credited with the invention of blacksmithing and ironworking. ... Naamah or Naamah (Hebrew: נעמה, meaning pleasant) may refer to: Naamah, the daughter of Lamech, descendant of Cain. ... The Septuagint: A page from Codex vaticanus, the basis of Sir Launcelot Lee Brentons English translation. ... The Masoretic Text (MT) is the Hebrew text of the Tanakh approved for general use in Judaism. ...

Translating the names as well, it is possible to read the text of the story of Lamech as:

God's servant took two wives, light and darkness. The light brought forth the shepherd, who was the father of tent-dwellers, and herdsmen, and his brother was the musician, who was the father of harpists and pipers. But the darkness brought forth the blacksmith, the forger of brass, and of iron, and his sister was pleasure.

Brass is the term used for alloys of copper and zinc, the amount of zinc varying from 5-45 % to create a range of brasses each with unique properties[1]. Note that in comparison bronze is principally an alloy of copper and tin. ... General Name, Symbol, Number iron, Fe, 26 Chemical series transition metals Group, Period, Block 8, 4, d Appearance lustrous metallic with a grayish tinge Atomic mass 55. ...

Interpretation

When fully translated, the text has a strong resemblance simply to a basic mythology concerning the origin of the various forms of civilisation, the shepherds and musicians being products of the day, and pleasure being a product of the night. Blacksmiths, in carrying out their trade, are also associated with the darkness. Thus, in a sense, Lamech could be interpreted as a culture hero. Some of the names also appear to demonstrate punning - Jabal, Jubal, and Tubal rhyme, and appear to be derived from the same root - JBL (YVL in modern Hebrew): to bring forth, (also) to carry. A similar description existed amongst Phoenicians. A culture hero is a historical or mythological hero who changes the world through invention or discovery. ... It has been suggested that dajare be merged into this article or section. ... Phoenician sarcophagus found in Cadiz, Spain; now in Archaeological Museum of Cádiz. ...

The names are instead interpreted in the Midrash as an attack on polygamy. Adah is there interpreted as the deposed one, implying that Lamech spurned her in favour of Zillah, whose own name is understood to mean she shaded herself [from Zillah at Lamech's side]. The Midrash consequently regards Adah as having been treated as a slave, tyrannised by her husband, who was at the beck and call of his mistress, Zillah. It further goes on to claim that part of the immorality, which had led God to flood the earth, was the polygamy practised by Lamech and his generation. Midrash (Hebrew: מדרש; plural midrashim) is a Hebrew word referring to a method of exegesis of a Biblical text. ... The term polygamy (many marriages in late Greek) is used in related ways in social anthropology and sociobiology and sociology. ...

The rabbinical tradition is just as condemning of Naamah. While a minority, such as Abba ben Kahana, see Naamah as having become Noah's wife, and being so named because her conduct was pleasing to God, the majority of classical rabbinical sources consider her name to be due to her singing pleasant songs in worship of idols.

The Song of the Sword

The last part of the tale of Lamech (Genesis 4:23-24), takes the form of a brief poem, which refers back to the curse of Cain. In the poem, Lamech's stance resembles that of a supreme warrior, able to avenge himself absolutely. However, no explanation of who Lamech supposedly killed is ever given in the Tanakh. Some scholars have proposed that it is connected to the invention, contextually by Tubal-Cain, of the sword, for which reason the poem is often referred to as the Song of the Sword. The poem may originate from the mysterious Book of the Wars of the Lord, though the greater context for it is likely to remain obscure. In Christianity and Judaism, the curse of Cain and the mark of Cain refer to the Biblical passages in the Book of Genesis chapter 4, where God declared that Cain, the firstborn of Adam and Eve, was cursed, and placed a mark upon him to warn others that killing Cain... Tanakh ‎ (also Tanach, IPA: or , or Tenak, is an acronym that identifies the Hebrew Bible. ... Swiss longsword, 15th or 16th century Look up Sword in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The Book of The Wars of The Lord is one of several books referenced in the Hebrew Bible of which no copies are known to exist. ...

However, this paucity of context did not stop a rabbinical tradition growing up around it. The Talmud and Midrash present an extensive legend, told, for example, by Rashi, in which Lamech first loses his sight from age, and had to be led by Tubal-Cain, the seventh generation from Cain. Tubal-Cain saw in the distance something that he first took for an animal, but it was actually Cain (still alive, due to the extensive life span of the antediluvians) whom Lamech had accidentally killed with an arrow. When they discovered who it was, Lamech, in sorrow, clapped his hands together, which (for an unclear reason) kills Tubal-Cain. In consequence, Lamech's wives desert him. A similar legend is preserved in the pseudepigraphic Second Book of Adam and Eve, Chapter XIII; in this version Tubal-Cain is not named, but is instead referred to as "the young shepherd." After Lamech claps his hands he strikes the young shepherd on the head. To ensure his death, he then smashed his head with a rock. The first page of the Vilna Edition of the Babylonian Talmud, Tractate Berachot, folio 2a The Talmud (Hebrew: תלמוד) is a record of rabbinic discussions pertaining to Jewish law, ethics, customs and history. ... Midrash (Hebrew: מדרש; plural midrashim) is a Hebrew word referring to a method of exegesis of a Biblical text. ... Rashi (1040-1105) (Artists imagination) Rashi רשי is a Hebrew acronym for רבי שלמה יצחקי (Rabbi Shlomo Yitzhaqi), or רבי שלמה ירחי (Rabbi Shlomo Yarchi) (February 22, 1040 – July 13, 1105), author of the first comprehensive commentaries on the Talmud and Tanakh. ... The Books of Adam is a collective name of several apocryphal books relating to Adam and Eve. ...

An alternate form of this negative attitude towards Lamech (such as Targum Pseudo-Jonathan) claims that even though Lamech did not kill anyone, his wives refused to associate with him and denied him sex, on the grounds that Cain's line was to be annihilated after seven generations. The poem is then given by Lamech to allay their fears. Other classical sources, such as Josephus, see the word seventy-seven as the number of sons which Lamech eventually had. A representation of Flavius Josephus, a woodcutting in John C. Winstons translation of his works Josephus (37 – shortly after 100 AD/CE)[1], who became known, in his capacity as a Roman citizen, as Flavius Josephus[2], was a 1st-century Jewish historian and apologist of priestly and royal...

Extending on this classical view of Lamech is the Book of Moses, regarded in Mormonism as scripture. According to this Latter-day Saint text, Lamech entered into a secret pact with Satan, as had Cain before him, becoming a second Master Mahan. When Irad (an ancestor of Lamech) learned his secret and began to publicise it, Lamech murdered him. News of the murder was spread by Lamech's two wives, leading to his being cast out of society. The Book of Moses is a text published by Joseph Smith, Jr. ... Mormonism is a term used to describe religious, ideological, and cultural aspects of the various Latter Day Saint churches. ... Many religions and spiritual movements hold certain written texts (or series of spoken legends not traditionally written down) to be sacred. ... A Latter-day Saint is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). ... This page is about the concept of Satan. ... Master Mahan is a title assumed first by Cain and later by his descendant Lamech according to the Book of Moses, a Latter-day Saint book of scripture. ... The generations of Adam are the two lines of descent from Adam, both ending in the name Lamech, which are given in Genesis. ...