Daniel 5:4 The gods of gold, and of silver, of brass, of iron.
The working of metal into various articles of ornament or of use is all art as old as the days of Tubal-Cain. See Genesis 4:22. The different metals referred to in this text are frequently spoken of in the Bible. There is no question as to their identity, except in the case of nechash, which is the Chaldee form of nechosheth, and in the text is rendered “brass.” The factitious metal known by this name, and which is compounded of copper and zinc, is said to be of a later date than the early historic times of the Bible. It certainly cannot he intended by the word nechosheth in such passages as Deuteronomy 8:9 and Job 28:2. Copper is probably the metal there referred to as being dug out of the earth. The same word is rendered “steel” in 2 Samuel 22:35; Job 20:24; Psalm 18:34 and Jeremiah 15:12. Inasmuch as copper is better worked when alloyed, and as tin was known at a very early day (see Num. 31:22) it is supposed that a combination of these two metals—that is, bronze—was used in the manufacture of different articles. Tools, utensils, and ornaments of bronze are found among the Egyptian and Assyrian remains. The vessels of the Tabernacle, which are represented in our version as made of “brass” (nechosheth) were probably either copper or bronze. See Exodus 38:2-6, 8.