Metals

The ancient Hebrews knew and used nearly all metals known to the ancient world. Gold was prized from the earliest times — Havilah's gold is mentioned in Genesis 2:11–12, and Abraham was "very rich in... silver and gold" (Gen. 13:2). Silver served as the standard medium of exchange before coinage (Gen. 23:16). Copper (rendered "brass" or "bronze" in older translations) was used extensively for tools, vessels, and the great bronze objects of the tabernacle and temple — the laver, altar, and sea (Ex. 27:2; 1 Kings 7:23).

Iron came into widespread use after the Exodus period; the Philistines controlled iron technology during the judges era, giving them a strategic advantage over Israel (1 Sam. 13:19–22). Lead was known (Job 19:24; Jer. 6:29), as were tin and antimony. The processing of metals — smelting, casting, forging — provided the prophets with rich metaphors for divine judgment and purification (Isa. 1:25; Jer. 6:29; Ezek. 22:18–22; Mal. 3:2–3).