Lamech
Overview
 
Lamech is a character in the genealogies of Adam
Generations of Adam
"Generations of Adam" is a concept in in the Hebrew Bible. It is typically taken as name of Adam's line of descent going through Seth. Another view equates the generations of Adam with material about a second line of descent starting with Cain in Genesis 4, while Genesis 5 is taken as the...

 in the Book of Genesis. He is the sixth generation descendant of Cain
Cain and Abel
In the Hebrew Bible, Cain and Abel are two sons of Adam and Eve. The Qur'an mentions the story, calling them the two sons of Adam only....

 (Genesis 4:18); his father was named Methusael, and he was responsible for the "Song of the Sword." He is also noted as the first polygamist mentioned in the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...

, taking two wives, Ada and Tselah. He is not to be confused with the Lamech
Lamech (father of Noah)
Lamech is a character in the genealogies of Adam in the Book of Genesis.- Family :Lamech is the eighth generation descendant of Seth , the son of Methuselah and the father of Noah , in the genealogy of Seth in Genesis 5. In Genesis 5:12-25, Lamech was a son of Methuselah who was a grandson of...

 in Genesis 5.
Sandwiched between two genealogical lines, the passage describing Lamech, son of Methushael, descendant of Cain and his children is fairly substantive:

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


The older Septuagint, unlike the Masoretic Text
Masoretic Text
The Masoretic Text is the authoritative Hebrew text of the Jewish Bible and is regarded as Judaism's official version of the Tanakh. While the Masoretic Text defines the books of the Jewish canon, it also defines the precise letter-text of these biblical books, with their vocalization and...

, has the name Tubal rather than Tubal-Cain.

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.
 
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