2 Kings 18:16 - Exposition

At that time did Hezekiah cut off 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. In the time of his great wealth and prosperity, Hezekiah, while engaged in restoring the temple ( 2 Chronicles 29:17-19 ), had adorned the pillars and doors of the sanctuary with a metal covering, which was probably gold, like Solomon's ( 1 Kings 6:20-22 , 1 Kings 6:28 , 1 Kings 6:30 , 1 Kings 6:32 ). To make up the "thirty talents of gold" he was now obliged to undo his own work, and strip the doors and pillars bare. Sennacherib tells us that, besides the two large sums of gold and silver, Hezekiah sent him at this time "woven cloth, scarlet,' embroidered; precious stones of large size; couches of ivory; movable thrones of ivory; skins of buffaloes; horns of buffaloes; and two kinds of woods". It was customary to accompany the fixed tribute with the more precious products of each country.