The Floating Axhead “Let him have all your worries and cares, for he is always thinking about you and watching everything that concerns you.” 1 Peter 5:7

The Facts, Please! Many tools used in Bible times are similar to those we use today (of course, our tools are greatly improved). Various types of saws, axes, hammers, knives, and other tools were common in the ancient world. The first Tools were made of stone fastened to wood handles. A very hard stone, flint, was used from earliest times. Copper was the first metal used in tools, but it was too soft. Then bronze, an alloy of copper and tin, was found to be harder and to work better. The Israelites used tools and weapons made from bronze until the days of King Saul.

More Facts, Please! Even before that, the Philistines, Israel’s enemies, had learned the secret of how to smelt iron and make tools from it. Iron tools were much harder and sharper than the bronze ones were. When David defeated the Philistines, the Israelites learned their secret of making iron tools and weapons. The ax was an important tool used for felling trees and cutting the logs into lumber. The iron axhead was lashed to a wooden handle by thongs or some other means. This type of fastening often cause an axhead to fly off its handle.

Final Fact, Please! Could an iron axhead float on top of water? No, because iron is heavier than water, and the law of gravitation causes it to sink. The only way an iron axhead could float is for God, who created the force of gravity, to temporarily suspend that law.