A metal whose hardness and malleability made it ideal for implements of war as well as of more peaceful pursuits. Biblical references to iron occur in all parts of the Hebrew Bible. Pentateuchal references include the attribution of ironworking to Tubal-cain (Gen 4:22), the traditional “father of metallurgy.” Moses uses iron in a simile, stressing its hard and unyielding property (Lev 26:19). Iron taken as booty in the defeat of Midian was required to be purified (Num 31:22). Og, king of Bashan, had an iron bedstead (Deut 3:11). Captivity in Egypt is likened to being in an iron furnace (Deut 4:20). The land of Palestine is described as a land whose “stones are iron” (Deut 8:9). Moses threatens the disobedient with an “iron yoke” (Deut 28:48). The historical books reflect the use of iron by Israel and its enemies. Canaanites had chariots of iron (Josh 17:16) and the Philistine Goliath’s spear is described as weighing six hundred shekels of iron (1Sam 17:7). In preparation for building, David gathered materials including “great stores of iron for nails for the doors of the gates and for clamps” (1Chr 22:3), but iron was prohibited in the Temple (1Kgs 6:7). Solomon had ironworkers (2Chr 2:7), and by the reign of Joash (800–785 BCE), Israel had craftsmen in iron (2Kgs 24:14; 2Chr 24:12). Prophetic references to iron include the most descriptive passages of the ironsmith’s craft (Isa 44:12; Isa 54:16) as well as the metaphoric use of iron as a symbol of strength and toughness (Isa 48:4; Jer 1:18); servitude (Jer 28:13-14; Deut 4:20); and judgment (Isa 1:25; Jer 6:29-30; Ezek 22:20-31). In Psalms, Proverbs, and Daniel, iron is referred to in historical allusion (Ps 105:18 tells that Joseph’s neck was put in an iron collar when he was sold as a slave), proverbially (Prov 27:17, “iron sharpens iron, and one person sharpens the wits of another”), and in apocalyptic dream and vision (Dan 2:35, where the image of Nebuchadnezzar’s dream had feet of iron and clay; and (Dan 2:40-45), where one of the successive kingdoms is of iron). NT references describe objects made of iron (e.g., an iron gate, Acts 12:10) and someone ruling “with an iron rod” (Rev 2:27; Rev 12:5; Rev 19:15).
