Bronze

Bronze is a strong and hard metal which is made by mixing two relatively soft metals: copper and tin, or instead of tin, another metal such as lead.

Bronze was made in the Levant from the beginning of the second millennium before Christ. The Bible mentions a foundry in the Jordan Valley (1 Kings 7:46).

In Hebrew, the same word is used for copper and bronze. It is therefore not always clear which metal is meant.

Well-known bronze and copper objects in the Bible are:

Bronze is also used as a metaphor for toughness and durability:

“I knew that you would prove to be stubborn,
as rigid as iron and unyielding as bronze.
And so I predicted your future long ago,
announcing events before they took place,
to keep you from claiming
that your idols and images made them happen” (Isaiah 48:4-5).

“Everyone in this land — the kings of Judah, the officials, the priests, and the people — will be against you. But today I am giving you the strength to resist them; you will be like a fortified city, an iron pillar, and a bronze wall” (Jeremiah 1:18).