Isaiah 44:12 - "The ironsmith fashions it and works it over the coals; he shapes it with hammers, and forges it with his strong arm; he becomes hungry and his strength fails, he drinks no water and is faint."

Tubal-cain, of the race of Cain, is described as "an instructor of every artificer in brass and iron" (Genesis 4:22). It used to be thought that the use if iron was very late, but modern archaeology has found that there was a knowledge of iron as early as the third millenium B.C. Remains of an iron blade dating @2700 B.C. have been found at a site near Baghdad. A small steel ax from Ur and other early objects of iron have also been found. The fact that not more iron objects of an early period have been found is undoubtedly due to the fact that iron oxidized quickly.

The Taurus Mountains, the chief iron supply of Asia Minor, were for many years controlled by the Hittites. Iron began to come into general use in Palestine in the 13th century B.C. The Israelites in the period of the judges and the early monarchy envied and feared the iron furnaces of the Philistines, which gave the latter a tremendous superiority in arms. It was both inconvenient and expensive for the Israelites to go to Philistia to get iron tools made or repaired.

Lack of iron for farming implements, nails, and weapons for war kept the Isrealites comparatively poor during the period of the judges. They could not drive the Canaanites out of the plains because the latter had chariots and weapons of iron. Even in the time of Saul, his army had no swords or spears for battle, he and Jonathan alone possessing them. When the power of the Philistines was broken by Saul and David, the iron-smelting formula became public property, and the metal came to be widely used in Isreal.

Iron ore was brought in by Tyrian leaders, probably from Spain, although it was also found in the Lebanon range, and probably Egypt. The Jews probably learned the art of working in iron from the Phoenicians. The ore was reduced in furnaces built in stone; charcoal was used in them, and the fire was blown by bellows. Wrought iron, cast iron, and steel were made.

Iron was used in Bible times much as it is used today. It was used for axes and other implements, vessels, threshing instruments, harrows, fetters, armor, chariots, nails, weights, tools, prison bars; whatever men needed that could be reasonably made from iron. There is a description of a smith at work in Ecclesiasticus 38:28. We have added many more items today that we made use of in our daily lives, but the same ones that the ancients made are still used in most parts of the world.