Reference: Metals
Fausets
Gold of Havilah is mentioned as early as Ge 2:11. The first worker of instruments of copper ("brass") and iron was Tubal-cain (Ge 4:22). Abram was rich in silver and gold (Ge 13:2). Instruments before Tubalcain (born according to Hebrew chronology 500 years after Adam and contemporary with Enoch from Seth; 1,000 according to Septuagint chronology) were apparently of flint, bone, and hard wood, such as uncivilized nations now use. Races that have degenerated into barbarism fall back upon flint; then advance to bronze, an alloy of copper and tin, harder than either: and then brass; and lastly iron. The oldest European races used only flint weapons, which are found in the gravel; but this is no proof they were unknown to Adam's early descendants. Isolation would soon reduce the distant emigrants to savagery. Silver was used for commerce, as "money" (Ge 23:16; 17:12; 20:16), gold for ornament.
Gold, silver, brass, iron, tin, and lead were among the spoils taken front Midian (Nu 31:22). In Job 20:24 for "steel" translated brass. Also Ps 18:34, "a bow of steel" should be brass, which, or bronze, was used to strengthen arms, as for instance the Egyptians' bows. But God so taught David to war relying on Him that, no weapon could prevail against him; so Isa 54:17. In Jer 15:12, "shall iron break the northern iron and the steel?" the metal meant is copper mixed with iron by the Chalybes near the Pontus far N. of Palestine; i.e., can the Jews, however iron-like, break the hardier steel-like northern Chaldees (Jer 1:14). Common iron, as then prepared, was inferior to the Chalybian iron and brass combined. Thus explaining, we solve Henderson's difficulty that KJV makes iron not so hard as brass, and we need not transl, as he does "can one break iron, even northern iron, and brass?"
In Na 2:3, "the chariots will be with flaming torches," translated rather "with fire flashing scythes," literally, "with the fire (glitter) of scythes" or steel weapons fixed at right angles to the axles, and turned down, or parallel, inserted into the felly of the wheel. (On Ezr 1:4 "amber," Re 1:15 "fine brass". (See AMBER.) The first payment of gold is in 1Ch 21:25. (See ARAUNAH.) Gold was imported from Ophir, Sheba, Parvaim, and Uphaz (1Ki 9:27-28; 10/2/type/emb'>10:2,10; 2Ch 3:6; Jer 10:9). The hills of Palestine yielded copper (De 8:9). Job 28 hints at the fact that gold is more superficial, iron lodes yield more the deeper you go: "there is a vein (a mine from whence it goes forth, Hebrew) for the silver, and a place for gold (which men) refine (it is found in the sands of rivers, and its particles have a superficial range in mines); iron is taken out of the dust (or earth, ore looking like it), and copper is molten out of the stone."
Copper is easier found and wrought than iron, so was in earlier use. Copper alloyed with tin formed brindle, of which Napier (Metal. of Bible) thinks the domestic vessels, the arms, etc., in Scripture were made, as it tarnishes less, takes a finer polish, and admits of a keen, hard edge (2Sa 21:16). Israel derived their skill in metallurgy from the Egyptians. Tin (bdiyl) was doubtless imported through the Phoenicians from Cornwall to Tarshish, and thence to Palestine (Eze 27:12; 22:18-20; Isa 1:25); the Assyrian bronze bowls, having one part tin to ten copper, now in the British Museum, consist of metal probably exported 3,000 years ago from the British isles. (See BOWLS.)
See Verses Found in Dictionary
The name of the one, is Pishon, - the same, is that which surroundeth all the land of Havilah, where is gold;
And, as for Zillah, she also, bare Tubal-Cain, a sharpener of every cutting instrument of bronze and iron, - and, the sister of Tubal-Cain, was Naamah.
Now, Abram, was very rich, - in cattle, in silver and in gold.
And he that is eight days old, shall be circumcised to you every male to your generations, - he that is born of the house, and he that is bought with silver of any son of a stranger, who is, not of thy seed,
And to Sarah, he said, Lo! I have given a thousand of silver unto thy brother: Lo! that is for thee as a covering of eyes, to all who are with thee, - And so in every way, hath right been done.
And Abraham hearkened unto Ephron, and Abraham weighed out to Ephron the silver of which he had spoken in the ears of the sons of Heth, - four hundred shekels of silver, current with the merchant,
a land wherein not in scarcity, shalt thou eat food, thou shalt lack nothing therein, - a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest hew copper.
So, Ishbi-benob, who was of the descendants of the giant, the weight of whose spear-head, was three hundred shekels of bronze, he also being newly armed, thought to smite David;
And Hiram sent in the fleet his servants, seamen, having knowledge of the sea, - with the servants of Solomon; and they came to Ophir, and fetched from thence, gold, four hundred and twenty talents, - and brought it to King Solomon.
Yea she came to Jerusalem with a very heavily-laden train, of camels bearing spices, and gold in great abundance, and precious stones, - and, when she was come to Solomon, she spake unto him all that was near her heart;
And she gave unto the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold, and spices in great abundance, and precious stones, - there came in no more, such spice for abundance, as that which the queen of Sheba gave unto King Solomon.
So David gave to Ornan, for the place, - shekels of gold, by weight, six hundred.
And, whosoever is left, of all the places where he doth sojourn, let the men of his place uphold him, with silver and with gold, and with goods and with beasts, - along with a voluntary offering for the house of God, which is in Jerusalem.
He shall flee from the armour of iron, - There shall pierce him, a bow of bronze!
Teaching my hands to war, - so that a bow of bronze was bent by mine arms.
That I may turn my hand against thee, And smelt away, as with potash, thy dross, And remove all thine alloy;
No instrument formed against thee, shall prosper, And every tongue that riseth against thee in judgment, shalt thou prove to be lawless, - This is the inheritance of the servants of Yahweh. And, their righteousness, is from me, Declareth Yahweh.
Then said Yahweh unto me, - Out of the North, shall break forth calamity, against all the inhabitants of the land.
Silver spread into plates, from Tarshish is brought, And gold, from Uphaz, Work for the craftsman and for the hands of the smith, - Blue and purple, is their clothing, Work for the skilled, are they all.
Shall iron crush the iron from the North and the bronze?
Son of man, The house of Israel hath become to me, dross, - They all are copper and tin and iron and lead in the midst of a furnace, The dross of silver, have they become. Therefore, Thus, saith My Lord Yahweh, Because ye all are become dross, Therefore, behold me! gathering you into the midst of Jerusalem: read more. As they gather silver and copper and iron and lead and tin into the midst of a furnace, to blow upon it the fire to melt it, So will I gather in mine anger and in mine indignation, and will let b. and will melt you;
Tarshish was a trader of thine. For the abundance of all wealth, - With silver iron. tin and lead, Took they part in thy traffic:
The shield of his heroes, is made red, the men of war, are clad in crimson, on fire, are the chariot-steels, on the day he maketh ready, - and, the lances, are put in motion.
And, his feet, like unto glowing copper, as if in a furnace refined, and, his voice, like a sound of many waters,
Smith
Metals.
The Hebrews, in common with other ancient nations, were acquainted with nearly all the metals known to modern metallurgy, whether as the products of their own soil or the results of intercourse with foreigners. One of the earliest geographical definitions is that which describes the country of Havilah as the land which abounded in gold, and the gold of which was good.
Abram was very rich in cattle, in silver, and in gold,
silver, as will be shown hereafter, being the medium of commerce, while gold existed in the shape of ornaments, during the patriarchal ages. Tin is first mentioned
and lead is used to heighten the imagery of Moses' triumphal song.
Whether the ancient Hebrews were acquainted with steel, properly so called, is uncertain; the words so rendered in the Authorized Version,
2Sa 22:35; Job 20:24; Ps 18:34; Jer 15:12
are in all others passages translated brass, and would be more correctly copper. The "northern iron" of
is believed more nearly to correspond to what we call steel [STEEL] It is supposed that the Hebrews used the mixture of copper and tin known as bronze. The Hebrews obtained their principal supply from the south of Arabia and the commerce of the Persian Gulf.
See Steel
The great abundance of gold in early times is indicated by its entering into the composition of all articles of ornament and almost all of domestic use. Among the spoils of the Midianites taken by the Israelites in their bloodless victory when Balaam was slain were earrings and jewels to the amount of 16,750 shekels of gold,
equal in value to more than $150,000. Seventeen hundred shekels of gold (worth more than $15,000) in nose jewels (Authorized Version "ear-rings") alone were taken by Gideon's army from the slaughtered Midianites.
But the amount of treasure accumulated by David from spoils taken in war is so enormous that we are tempted to conclude the numbers exaggerated. Though gold was thus common, silver appears to have been the ordinary medium of commerce. The first commercial transaction of which we possess the details was the purchase of Ephron's field by Abraham for 400 shekels of silver.
The accumulation of wealth in the reign of Solomon was so great that silver was but little esteemed.
Brass, or more properly copper, was a native product of Palestine.
De 8:9; Job 28:2
It was plentiful in the days of Solomon, and the quantity employed in the temple could not be estimated, it was so great.
No allusion is found to zinc; but tin was well known. Arms,
2Sa 21:16; Job 20:24; Ps 18:34
and armor,
were made of copper, which was capable of being so wrought as to admit of a keen and hard edge. Iron, like copper, was found in the hills of Palestine. Iron-mines are still worked by the inhabitants of Kefr Hunch, in the sought of the valley of Zaharani.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
The name of the one, is Pishon, - the same, is that which surroundeth all the land of Havilah, where is gold; moreover the gold of that and, is good, - there, is the bdellium, and the beryl stone,
Now, Abram, was very rich, - in cattle, in silver and in gold.
And Abraham hearkened unto Ephron, and Abraham weighed out to Ephron the silver of which he had spoken in the ears of the sons of Heth, - four hundred shekels of silver, current with the merchant,
Thou didst blow with thy wind they were covered by the sea, - They rolled like lead, into the waters so wide. Who is, like unto thee, among the mighty O Yahweh?
Then came near unto Moses the officers who belonged unto the thousands of the host, - the princes of thousands and the princes of hundreds; and said unto Moses, Thy servants have reckoned up the sum of the men of war who are in our hand, - and there is not missed from among us, a man! read more. Therefore have we brought near an offering unto Yahweh, what, each man, hath found - articles of gold, ankle chains and bracelets, rings earrings and buckles, - to put a propitiatory-covering over our souls before Yahweh. So Moses, and Eleazar the priest took the gold of them, - all the wrought articles. And all the gold of the heave-offering which they offered up unto Yahweh, was - sixteen thousand seven hundred and fifty shekels, - of the princes of thousands, and of the princes of hundreds. The men of the host, had taken prey, each man for himself. So then Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold of the princes of thousands, and hundreds, - and brought it into the tent of meeting, as a memorial for the sons of Israel before Yahweh.
a land wherein not in scarcity, shalt thou eat food, thou shalt lack nothing therein, - a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest hew copper.
When I saw among the spoil a certain goodly mantle of Babylonia and two hundred shekels of silver and a certain wedge of gold - fifty shekels the weight thereof, then I coveted them, then I took them, - and, there they are, hid in the earth, in the midst of my tent, and the silver under it.
And so it was, that the weight of the nose-rings of gold which he requested, was a thousand and seven hundred shekels of gold, - besides the crescents, and the pendants, and the raiment of purple that were upon the kings of Midian, and besides the ornaments that were on the necks of their camels.
with a helmet of bronze on his head, and, with a scaly coat of mail, was he clad, - the weight of the coat, being five thousand shekels of bronze; and, greaves of bronze, on his feet, - and, a javelin of bronze, between his shoulders;
And Saul clad David with his own military coat, and set a helmet of bronze upon his head, - and clad him with a coat of mail.
So, Ishbi-benob, who was of the descendants of the giant, the weight of whose spear-head, was three hundred shekels of bronze, he also being newly armed, thought to smite David;
Teaching my hands, to war, - so that a bow of bronze was bent by mine arms;
And Solomon let all the vessels be, because of their exceeding great multitude, - the weight of the bronze was not found out.
And, all the drinking vessels of King Solomon, were of gold, and, all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon, were of pure gold, - none was of silver, it was accounted in the days of Solomon, as nothing.
And the king caused silver in Jerusalem to be as stones, - cedars also, caused he to be as the sycamores that are in the lowlands, for abundance.
He shall flee from the armour of iron, - There shall pierce him, a bow of bronze!
He shall flee from the armour of iron, - There shall pierce him, a bow of bronze!
Teaching my hands to war, - so that a bow of bronze was bent by mine arms.
Teaching my hands to war, - so that a bow of bronze was bent by mine arms.
Shall iron crush the iron from the North and the bronze?
Shall iron crush the iron from the North and the bronze?