Tin: Heb. bedil
(Numbers 31:22; Ezekiel 22:18,20) a metal well known in ancient times.
It is the general opinion that the Phoenicians of Tyre and Sidon
obtained their supplies of tin from the British Isles. In
(Ezekiel 27:12)
it is said to have been brought from Tarshish, which was probably a
commercial emporium supplied with commodities from other places. In
(Isaiah 1:25) the word so rendered is generally understood of lead, the
alloy with which the silver had become mixed.
(Isaiah 1:22) The fire
of the Babylonish Captivity would be the means of purging out the
idolatrous alloy that had corrupted the people.