tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2127231318556758701.post7110388437706807345..comments2023-11-05T03:06:30.977-08:00Comments on Mormon Midrashim: Adah and Zillah: Heroes for Our TimeJames Goldberghttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14422536627746885883noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2127231318556758701.post-38784679124358150232018-02-09T20:35:27.762-08:002018-02-09T20:35:27.762-08:00This is FANTASTIC, especially in light of all the ...This is FANTASTIC, especially in light of all the woeful revelations of our day. I've been wondering quite a bit about *why* it's suddenly becoming more common to actually *hear* the maladies of our day, where there was a time when (for example, during the sexual revolution) such voices were silenced.<br /><br />This was a great story to learn.Robert Hallhttp://robertlangfordhall.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2127231318556758701.post-37610522507068650632018-02-09T16:39:40.371-08:002018-02-09T16:39:40.371-08:00Looks like it just says “having known their secret...Looks like it just says “having known their secret” which seems to leave both on the table.James Goldberghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14422536627746885883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2127231318556758701.post-81172082682053339442018-02-09T15:19:58.566-08:002018-02-09T15:19:58.566-08:00I agree with you. Her reading surprised me. But a ...I agree with you. Her reading surprised me. But a question for you: I had always thought Irad was also a member of the secret society and that Lamech killed him because he broke his oath to keep it secret. I admit I’m not as close a reader as you, though—I sort of understand things by feel. Is there evidence one way or the other that Irad only discovered the secret and wasn’t a part of it?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2127231318556758701.post-63008416304872532372018-02-09T14:40:21.890-08:002018-02-09T14:40:21.890-08:00There is a lot of room for interpretation in any s...There is a lot of room for interpretation in any story. Just took a look at Heather Farrell's book, though, and I'm pretty sure she's misreading and not reading differently.<br />Starting at the end of v. 52 and into v. 53 it says that the covenant with Satan "began to spread among all the sons of men. And it was among the sons of men. And among the daughters of men these things were not spoken, because that Lamech had spoken the secret unto his wives, and they rebelled against him, and declared these things abroad, and had not compassion."<br />Farrell cites this passage her evidence that Adah and Zillah joined the evil covenant. She reads the phrase "spoken the secret" as meaning that Adah and Zillah were willfully initiated into the secret covenant. that they She does that by reading the "because" as if it said "until": she says the secret combinations weren't among the daughters of men until Adah and Zillah, rather than reading it as the secret combinations seeking to be among the daughters of men because of the actions of Adah and Zillah. You can interpret things a lot of ways, but switching "because" to "until" strikes me as too much of a stretch. <br />I wonder if what's throwing her is the phrase "had not compassion." We think of compassion as a virtue, so it's tempting to think as characters described as acting without compassion as bad. <br />But the story seems to suggest that in some cases compassion is not a virtue. And experience suggests that some people get very good at playing to pity to get others to cover for them. In those situations, having no compassion on the perpetrator is exactly the right attitude. <br />James Goldberghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14422536627746885883noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2127231318556758701.post-27838250120966342202018-02-09T12:19:08.835-08:002018-02-09T12:19:08.835-08:00Good thoughts. I bet you teach an excellent gospel...Good thoughts. I bet you teach an excellent gospel doctrine class. As far as the scriptural accounts of Lamech, Adah, and Zillah go, they seem so spare and vague. I've different and sometimes directly opposing interpretations of what happened. For instance, I read a much different account in "Walking with the Women of the Old Testament," by Heather Farrell. I like your interpretation better, though.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2127231318556758701.post-55022674391812708382018-02-09T03:27:21.818-08:002018-02-09T03:27:21.818-08:00Excellent. Thank you.Excellent. Thank you.Sidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09566574566179109134noreply@blogger.com