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/leb'>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 first [is] the Pishon. It went around all the land of Havilah, where [there is] gold.
Then Zillah also gave birth to Tubal-Cain who forged all [kinds of] tools of bronze and iron. And the sister of Tubal-Cain [was] Naamah.
Now Abram [was] very wealthy in livestock, in silver, and in gold.
And {at eight days of age} you shall yourselves circumcise every male [belonging] to your generations [and] {the servant born in your house and the one bought from any foreigner} who is not from your offspring.
And to Sarah he said, "Look, I have given a thousand [pieces of] silver to your brother. It [shall be] {an exoneration}. {You are vindicated before all who are with you}."
Then Abraham listened to Ephron, and Abraham weighed for Ephron the silver that he had named in the hearing of the Hittites: four hundred shekels of silver {at the merchants' current rate}.
[to] a land where you may eat food in it {without scarcity}; you will not find anything lacking in it, a land where its stones [are] iron and from its mountains you can mine copper.
Now Yishbi in Nob, who [was] among the descendents of Raphah (now the weight of his spearhead [was] three hundredweight of bronze, and he [was] newly armed), said that he would kill David.
Hiram sent his servants with the fleet of ships, {sailors} who knew the sea, with the servants of Solomon. They went to Ophir and imported from there four hundred and twenty talents of gold, and they brought it to King Solomon.
So she came to Jerusalem with very great wealth; [with] camels carrying spices, very much gold, and precious stones. She came to Solomon, and she spoke to him all that was on her heart.
Then she gave the king a hundred and twenty talents of gold, abundant spices, and precious stones. Spices as these did not come again in such abundance [as that which] the queen of Sheba brought to King Solomon.
So David gave to Ornan six hundred shekels of gold by weight for the place.
And let every survivor, from wherever he {resides} be assisted by the men of that place with silver and gold, with possessions and domestic animals, and with the freewill offering for the house of God which is in Jerusalem."
"He will flee from an iron weapon, [but] an arrow of bronze will pierce him.
[He] trains my hands for war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
And I will turn my hand against you; I will purify your dross like lye, and I will remove all [of] your tin.
Every weapon formed against you shall not succeed, and you shall declare guilty every tongue [that] rises against you for judgment. This [is] the inheritance of the servants of Yahweh, and their {legal right} from me," {declares} Yahweh.
Then Yahweh said to me, "From [the] north disaster will be unleashed on all the inhabitants of the land.
Silver beaten from Tarshish is brought, and gold from Uphaz, the work of [the] craftsman and [the] hands of the goldsmith. Blue and purple [are] their clothing, all of them [are] the work of skillful people.
Can anyone break iron, iron from the north, or bronze?
"Son of man, the house of Israel has become as silver dross to me; all of them [are as] bronze and tin and iron and lead in the midst of a furnace, [even] [as] silver dross, silver [dross] they became! Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh: 'Because all of you have become [as] silver dross, therefore look! I [am] gathering you to the midst of Jerusalem, read more. like the gathering of silver and bronze and iron and lead and tin to the middle of a furnace to blow fire on it for melting. Thus I will gather in my anger and in my rage, and I will {deposit} you, and I will melt you.
" 'Tarshish [was] your trader; from [the] abundance of all of [their] wealth, with silver, iron, tin, and lead they exchanged for your merchandise.
The shields of his warriors [are] dyed red; The powerful men [are] dressed in scarlet. The metal of the chariots [shines] like fire {on the day of battle}, and [their] spears quiver.
and his feet [were] like fine bronze when it has been fired in a furnace, and his voice [was] like the 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 first [is] the Pishon. It went around all the land of Havilah, where [there is] gold. (The gold of that land [is] good; bdellium and onyx stones [are] there.)
Now Abram [was] very wealthy in livestock, in silver, and in gold.
Then Abraham listened to Ephron, and Abraham weighed for Ephron the silver that he had named in the hearing of the Hittites: four hundred shekels of silver {at the merchants' current rate}.
You blew with your breath; the sea covered them; they dropped like lead in the mighty waters.
Then the leaders of the thousands of the army, the commanders of the thousands and the commanders of the hundreds, approached Moses, and they said to Moses, "Your servants have {taken count} of the men of war who [were] {in our charge}, and no man is missing from us. read more. So we brought the offering of Yahweh, what each man found, objects of gold, bangles, bracelets, rings, earrings, and female ornaments, to make atonement for ourselves {before} Yahweh." Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold from them, all objects of work. All the gold of the contribution that they raised up to Yahweh, from the commanders of the thousands and the commanders of the hundreds, was sixteen thousand seven hundred and fifty shekels. The men of battle plundered each for himself. So Moses and Eleazar the priest took the gold from the commanders of the thousands and hundreds, and they brought it to the tent of the assembly as a memorial for the {Israelites} before Yahweh.
[to] a land where you may eat food in it {without scarcity}; you will not find anything lacking in it, a land where its stones [are] iron and from its mountains you can mine copper.
I saw among the spoil a beautiful robe from Shinar, two hundred shekels of silver, and one bar of gold [that] weighed fifty shekels; I coveted them and took them. They [are] hidden in the ground inside my tent, and the silver [is] under it."
The weight of the ornamental rings of gold that he requested [was] one thousand seven hundred [shekels of] gold, apart from the crescents, pendants, and purple garments that [were] on the kings of Midian, and apart from the pendants that [were] on the necks of their camels.
A bronze helmet was on his head, and he was clothed with scale body armor; the weight of the body armor was five thousand bronze shekels. Bronze greaves were on his legs, and a bronze javelin [was slung] between his shoulders.
Then Saul clothed David with his [own] fighting attire and put a helmet of bronze on his head and clothed him [with] body armor.
Now Yishbi in Nob, who [was] among the descendents of Raphah (now the weight of his spearhead [was] three hundredweight of bronze, and he [was] newly armed), said that he would kill David.
He trains my hands for the war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
Solomon left all of the vessels [unweighed] because of their very great abundance, so the weight of the bronze could not be determined.
All of the drinking vessels of King Solomon [were] gold, and all the vessels for the House of the Forest of Lebanon were pure gold. There was no silver; [it was] not considered as something valuable in the days of Solomon.
The king made the silver in Jerusalem as the stones, and the cedars he made as the sycamore fig trees which are in the Shephelah in abundance.
"He will flee from an iron weapon, [but] an arrow of bronze will pierce him.
"He will flee from an iron weapon, [but] an arrow of bronze will pierce him.
[He] trains my hands for war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
[He] trains my hands for war, so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
Can anyone break iron, iron from the north, or bronze?
Can anyone break iron, iron from the north, or bronze?