2 Kings 18:16

16 At that time Hezekiah stripped the gold from the doors of the temple of the Lord, and from the pillars which Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid, and gave it to the king of Assyria.

2 Kings 18:16 Meaning and Commentary

2 Kings 18:16

At that time did Hezekiah cut off the gold from the doors of
the temple of the Lord
The plates of gold with which they were covered; or scraped off the gold from them, as the Targum interprets it:

and from the pillars which Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid:
or the posts, as the Targum, the lintel or side posts of the doors of the temple; which though covered in Solomon's time, the gold was worn off, or had been taken off by Ahaz, but was renewed by Hezekiah; and who, in this time of distress, thought he might take it off again, no doubt with a full purpose to replace it, when he should be able. This is one of the three things the Talmudic writers F19 disapprove of in Hezekiah:

and gave it to the king of Assyria;
to make up the thirty talents of gold he demanded.


FOOTNOTES:

F19 T. Bab. Beracot, fol. 10. 2.

2 Kings 18:16 In-Context

14 Then Hezekiah king of Judah sent to the king of Assyria at Lachish, saying, "I have done wrong; turn away from me; whatever you impose on me I will pay." And the king of Assyria assessed Hezekiah king of Judah three hundred talents of silver and thirty talents of gold.
15 So Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was found in the house of the Lord and in the treasuries of the king's house.
16 At that time Hezekiah stripped the gold from the doors of the temple of the Lord, and from the pillars which Hezekiah king of Judah had overlaid, and gave it to the king of Assyria.
17 Then the king of Assyria sent the Tartan, the Rabsaris, and the Rabshakeh from Lachish, with a great army against Jerusalem, to King Hezekiah. And they went up and came to Jerusalem. When they had come up, they went and stood by the aqueduct from the upper pool, which was on the highway to the Fuller's Field.
18 And when they had called to the king, Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph, the recorder, came out to them.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.