No Smith in Israel

Now there was no smith found throughout all the land of Israel, I Samuel 13:19a. Today the blacksmith shop has become a museum piece. Since the automobile has replaced the horse and carriage the blacksmith extinguished his fire, put away his anvil, took off his heavy apron and closed shop. His usefulness is a thing of the past. In the days of Israel the smith had other duties than shoeing horses. Practically all the tools used were of a metal that needed repeated sharpening. If you will look...