Nephi brought sacred writings on “plates of brass” from Jerusalem in 600 B.C., yet brass was not invented until hundreds of years later. How could there be brass in 600 B.C.?
A good question. Brass (an alloy of copper and zinc) was long thought to have been invented quite recently, many centuries after Nephi’s time. For example, the article on brass in Funk and Wagnall’s encyclopedia (1990) states that it did not come into use until the 16th century. You may be interested to know that “brass” is also mentioned many times in the Old Testament and New Testament (e.g., the brass serpent made by Moses in Numbers 21:9; see also Gen. 4:22; Exo. 30:18; Isaiah 60:17; Dan. 2:32; 1 Cor. 13:1; among others). Bible scholars dealt with that problem not by rashly condemning the Bible but by assuming that “bronze” (an alloy of copper and tin) was actually meant, for bronze and other alloys of copper were known anciently (though I understand that a different Hebrew word was used to designate what has been translated as “brass” than the word for bronze and copper). However, it has long been known that the ancients made and used brass, though it was a rare and precious metal
