Steel in America during the time of the Book of Mormon

[_grampa75]

Did the people living in the Americas at the time the Book of Mormon was being written by the American prophets, have steel as it was written in the Book of Mormon when Nephi broke his bow of steel.
Anyone who doubts that steel existed during those times must not be well read in the scriptures.
The time that it was written in the Book of Mormon that Nephi broke his bow of steel was about 600 BC. But about 1000 BC this verse is written in the Bible concerning steel weapons.

2 Samuel 22: 35 He teacheth my hands to war; so that a bow of steel is broken in mine arms.
There is one other things that tends to prove the validity of the Book of Mormon is when Lehi, after having marched for three days from Jerusalem camped by the borders of the Red Sea. He named a river that flowed into the Red Sea after one of his son. And named a valley which was by the river that flowed into the Red Sea after his other son. The problem with that verse is that the Red Sea is over 200 miles from Jerusalem and could not be reached in only 3 days. The Red Sea is situated in a volcanic mountain and is fed from underground. In the entire history of Israel (until 1963) there was never a river that flowed into the Red Sea.
In the Book of Josephus, which was published in the United States in 1963 we find this verse:

The Tigres, the Phison (Which is now called the Ganges) and the Euphrates flowed into the Red Sea.

There is a footnote after that 3rd verse on page 25 in the book called Antiquities of the Jews that reads: (here is not only the South Sea which alone we call by that name today, but all the water surrounding Israel up to the East Indies were called the Red Sea.)

Joseph Smith had no way of knowing that there was a river that flowed into the Red Sea because that information was not known to anyone at the time of Joseph Smith. So wouldn't you say that Joseph Smith had to be inspired of God to know that a river flowed into the Red Sea when the world believed that there was never a river that flowed into the Red Sea.

Just wondering how others would take that information.
grampa75

[_beastie]

I don't understand your question. You seem to ask whether or not steel existed in ancient America during the Book of Mormon time period, but the "evidence" you cite is a scripture from the Old World.

[_grampa75]

I don't understand your question. You seem to ask whether or not steel existed in ancient America during the Book of Mormon time period, but the "evidence" you cite is a scripture from the Old World.

Richard Dawson;
What I was saying is that some say that steel was not invented until the first century therefore that would make the entry in the Book of Mormon concerning Nephi breaking his bow of steel totally wrong. But since the Bible also teaches that King David used the same weapon, a bow of steel, we know then that it had to be steel since iron does not have a spring to it as does steel. So the knowledge that some form of steel existed as far back as 1000 BC seems to verify the entry in the Book of Mormon when others say that it makes the Book of Mormon wrong.

grampa75

[_beastie]

I don't know about that, gramps, but I do know that no steel existed in ancient America during the Book of Mormon time frame. No metallurgy existed at all during that time frame in ancient America. They knew how to work with metal outcrops, but no metallurgy, which the Book of Mormon clearly describes.

[_Mephitus]

As such, if there WAS steel weapons or implements of any kind there would be quite a bit of archaeological evidence showing not only its use, but harvesting of metal and its refining into. There has been nothing of the sort forthcoming. Especially considering the astronomical amounts that the Book of Mormon credits use of here in america for purposes of war.

[_moksha]

Strong's listed the translation reference to steel in that particular verse of 2 Samuel King James Version as:

H5154
נחשׁה נחוּשׁה
nechûshâh nechûshâh
nekh-oo-shaw', nekh-oo-shaw'
Feminine of H5153; copper: - brass, steel. Compare H5176.

The God's Word Tranlation says this:

2Sa 22:35 He trains my hands for battle so that my arms can bend an archer's bow of bronze.

[_moksha]

The Reformed Egyptian word could have easily come up as Steel
in the Urim and Thummin translation.

[_Mephitus]

Again. there would still be evidence of the vast use of metals prescribed in the Book of Mormon.

[_Fortigurn]

Did the people living in the Americas at the time the Book of Mormon was being written by the American prophets, have steel as it was written in the Book of Mormon when Nephi broke his bow of steel.
Anyone who doubts that steel existed during those times must not be well read in the scriptures.
The time that it was written in the Book of Mormon that Nephi broke his bow of steel was about 600 BC. But about 1000 BC this verse is written in the Bible concerning steel weapons.

2 Samuel 22: 35 He teacheth my hands to war; so that a bow of steel is broken in mine arms.

This passage very usefully provides evidence for three important points:

* Smith using the KJV as as source for the Book of Mormon

* Smith having little or no understanding of when the KJV translation was wrong

* Smith having little or no understanding of Hebrew metaphor

The KJV is wrong to translate the Hebrew word here as 'steel'. It does not mean steel. Modern translations render it 'bronze'. Moreover, the Hebrew literally means 'and a bow of bronze is bent by my arms', nothing about it being broken. It is in the context of a laudatory ode, and is a poetic metaphor. It seems that Smith simply lifted it the phrase from the KJV without understanding that the translation was wrong on two points, that steel was not known in the Ancient Near East this early, and without realizing it was a metaphor.

[_Bond...James Bond]

This passage very usefully provides evidence for three important points:

* Smith using the KJV as as source for the Book of Mormon

* Smith having little or no understanding of when the KJV translation was wrong

* Smith having little or no understanding of Hebrew metaphor

The KJV is wrong to translate the Hebrew word here as 'steel'. It does not mean steel. Modern translations render it 'bronze'. Moreover, the Hebrew literally means 'and a bow of bronze is bent by my arms', nothing about it being broken. It is in the context of a laudatory ode, and is a poetic metaphor. It seems that Smith simply lifted it the phrase from the KJV without understanding that the translation was wrong on two points, that steel was not known in the Ancient Near East this early, and without realizing it was a metaphor.

I think you can add to your signature "grampa75 X 1"