MICHAEL - Some critics of the Book of Mormon have stated that steel was not available at the time when the Book of Mormon was written.

JOEL - The Bible also mentions brass and steel in times thought to be too early for such metals to have been known (Job 20:24; Exodus 25:3) . It is very unlikely they are talking about the same kind of metal we call steel today. Experts have acknowledged a problem in terminology when discussing “steel” in antiquity. Some of Mesoamerica’s most noted metallurgists at the time of the Spanish conquest wore what they called "steel" helmets. However, what they called "steel" was actually a meteoric nickel-iron alloy, which was available in Mesoamerica. It is likely that during the translation of the Book of Mormon the best modern-day English word that could be used to represent the metal spoken of was "steel", even though it's composition may not have been anything like the steel we use today. Please see this article about steel from FARMS.

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