Mahalalel

Mahalalel[lower-alpha 1] was a patriarch named in the Hebrew Bible. The King James Version spells his name Mahalaleel[1] in the Old Testament and Maleleel[2] in the New Testament.

Mahalalel
Spouse(s)Dinah
ChildrenJared
more sons and daughters
Parent(s)Kenan
RelativesEnos (grandfather)

The meaning of the name could be translated as "the shining one of El."[3]

Family

In the Bible, Mahalalel is an ancestor of Noah, and thus, of all humanity. He appears in the Book of Genesis 5:12-17, and according to the book, he lived 895 years (upto when Noah was 234), placing him eighth in the records for the unusually long lifespans for the antediluvian patriarchs.

Mahalalel was a son of Kenan, son of Enos, son of Seth, son of Adam in the Old Testament of the Bible. He was also the father of Jared.

Later references to Mahalalel include 1 Chronicles 1:2, Jubilees 4:14–15 and Gospel of Luke 3:37. Enoch's first dream vision in 1 Enoch 83 recounts the dream that Enoch had in the house of Mahalalel his grandfather, and which Mahalalel explains to him.[4]

Additionally, Mahalalel is also mentioned in Islam in the various collections of tales of the pre-Islamic prophets, which mentions him in an identical manner. Islamic scholar Tabari tells that his story was also found in Persian literature and likens him with the Pishdadian king Hushang.

AdamEve
CainAbelSeth
EnochEnos
IradKenan
MehujaelMahalalel
MethushaelJared
AdahLamechZillahEnoch
JabalJubalTubal-CainNaamahMethuselah
Lamech
Noah
ShemHamJapheth

Allusions

Latter Day Saint usage

In the original 1835 edition of the Doctrine and Covenants, Mahalaleel was used as a code name for Algernon Sidney Gilbert.

Others

Thomas Hardy, in his novel, The Return of the Native (1878), referenced Mahalaleel as one who betokened an advanced lifetime: "The number of their years may have adequately summed up Jared, Mahalaleel, and the rest of the antediluvians, but the age of a modern man is to be measured by the intensity of his history." (London:Folio Society) (1971 [1880] at p. 150.

The pet cat that comes to the manor in the storm in Joyce Carol Oates's novel Bellefleur (1980) is named Mahalaleel.

Mahalalel is named as part of the Generations of Adam by the narrator of the film Genesis: The Creation and the Flood (1994).

Notes
  1. Hebrew: מַהֲלַלְאֵל, Mahălalʾēl; Greek: Μαλελεήλ, Maleleḗl

References
  1. Genesis 5:12
  2. Luke 3:37
  3. Benner, Jeff A. "Definition of Hebrew Names: Mahalaleel". www.ancient-hebrew.org. Ancient Hebrew Research Center. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
  4. See the translation by R. H. Charles (1917) at sacred-texts.com
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