5 myths
Myths, legends, and mystical writings about Iron from across Jewish tradition.
5 myths on JewishMythology.com retell how Jewish tradition imagines iron, drawn from the Hebrew Bible, Midrash, Talmud, Kabbalah, and later Jewish literature. Each story below synthesizes primary sources into a single narrative; follow any myth to read it, and from there into the source passages behind it.
Fifty thousand men crossed the Jordan to fight for land they would never live on. When they went home and built an altar, Israel armed against them.
Gold, silver, and brass could enter the Sanctuary. Iron stayed out as the metal of a hatred that would one day claim kinship with Abraham.
The iron was a leather needle, no longer than a finger. It slipped into a man's throat, and the man holding it ran for the nearest city of refuge.
Builders lift whole stones while iron waits outside the circle. Holy vessels, once anointed, carry a fire that consumes the careless hand.
The forests had been standing for a few hours when iron came up out of the same ground. Every tree in the world started to shake at once.
