2 Kings 18:16

16 Hezekiah even stripped the gold from the doors of the LORD ’s Temple and from the doorposts he had overlaid with gold, and he gave it all to the Assyrian king.

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 King Hezekiah sent this message to the king of Assyria at Lachish: “I have done wrong. I will pay whatever tribute money you demand if you will only withdraw.” The king of Assyria then demanded a settlement of more than eleven tons of silver and one ton of gold.
15 To gather this amount, King Hezekiah used all the silver stored in the Temple of the LORD and in the palace treasury.
16 Hezekiah even stripped the gold from the doors of the LORD ’s Temple and from the doorposts he had overlaid with gold, and he gave it all to the Assyrian king.
17 Nevertheless, the king of Assyria sent his commander in chief, his field commander, and his chief of staff from Lachish with a huge army to confront King Hezekiah in Jerusalem. The Assyrians took up a position beside the aqueduct that feeds water into the upper pool, near the road leading to the field where cloth is washed.
18 They summoned King Hezekiah, but the king sent these officials to meet with them: Eliakim son of Hilkiah, the palace administrator; Shebna the court secretary; and Joah son of Asaph, the royal historian.
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