Listening this past Sunday to the discussion about Nephi and his broken bow, and I thought, "Okay, so there haven't been any discoveries of Nephite artifacts in the New World...but is there any proof or evidence of 'steel bows' in the Old World?"

Does anyone know about this or has anyone seen anything like this? I haven't done any independent research, but was just thinking...

(BTW--I know there will be no discovery of Nephite artifacts, but this seems one more straw on the camel's back of ludicrousness that is Joseph Smith's imagination). Steel bows?

Okay--

It's probably rude of me to post without doing any preliminary research. I've just been looking for some stuff, and (surprise, surprise), I've found something from FARMS which discusses the very nature of the problem. And, of course, it comes down to language--"well, it couldn't be 'steel', because 'steel' didn't exist as such back then..." and then refers to Biblical language that also describes steel bows as far back as Samuel. The then declare that it must have been an incorrect translation by the KJV translators in the 1600s.

But, if the Book of Mormon is the most correct book on the face of the earth, why would a mistake in the translation of the KJV matter? And why should that prove anything about the mis-use of the same terminology in the Book of Mormon?

Here's a link, for anyone who might be interested (although I'd imagine that most on this board are over all this by this point): http://maxwellinstitute.byu.edu/publications/books/?bookid=66&chapid=737

welcome to mormon apologetics 101: words don't mean what you think they mean...

it's the only way to make the BoM 'true'

Plus did you ever wonder like me why that bow was so important? When you read the whole story, they were all hunting with various weapons but suddenly Nephi's awesome bow is broke so now they are screwed?

Their "bows had lost their spring"--aside from the sexual suggestions this might bring about, why couldn't they make their own? "We hate you Nephi, you're always doing things that show us up!" "Nephi, you need to save us!"

So, Joseph's "Jacobean English" was to blame:

Characteristic One

There were "steel" bows. Several civilizations have made solid steel bows in the past. Many examples of steel bows are preserved in museums in India.13 Steel bows were also manufactured in medieval Europe but were usually used as crossbows because of the great strength needed to bend them.14 However, the earliest examples of pure steel weapons date from the early fourteenth-century-A.D. I am unaware of any evidence of pure steel bows from earlier times. How, then, could Nephi have had a steel bow in the sixth century B.C.?

To answer this question, one must examine the translations of the King James Version of the Bible (KJV) in which the phrase "steel bow" is used (2 Samuel 22:35; Psalm 18:34; Job 20:24). In each reference the phrase has been incorrectly translated and should really read "bronze" (Heb. nechushah) bow. From archaeological remains, it is clear that the Hebrew "bronze bow" was not made entirely of bronze but was a term that, as Roland de Vaux notes, "refers to the metal coverings of certain bows."15 Nephi's "steel bow" could thus likely be Joseph Smith's Jacobean English translation for an original Hebrew "bronze bow," referring to an ordinary wopden weapon decorated or reinforced in certain parts (usually the upper limb, nock, and grip) with bronze. This explanation is supported by the fact that Nephi's "steel" bow is said to have broken, a good indication that Nephi was not referring to a pure steel bow of the fourteenth-century-A.D. type, which would be essentially impossible to break by human muscle power alone.

But, if the Book of Mormon is the most correct book on the face of the earth, why would a mistake in the translation of the KJV matter? And why should that prove anything about the mis-use of the same terminology in the Book of Mormon?

Not only is this proof about the steel bow story being a lie, it is further proof that Joseph Smith plagiarized the King James version of the Bible. (Y'know, even as a youngster, I could never figure out why God didn't translate the BOM for Joseph Smith in his own contemporary English language...I mean, why use the King James Bible language? Especially, since Mormons imply that the Bible might not be translated correctly? The answer: plagiarism!)

Thanks. This is new information to me. Good work. The Mormon religion defies all logic!