Master Mahan, in the religious texts of the Latter Day Saint movement, is a title assumed first by Cain and later by his descendant Lamech.
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.
[11] 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.