2 Kings 16:8
in 2 Kings 16Ahaz also took the silver and gold found in the house of the LORD and in the treasuries of the king’s palace, and he sent it as a gift to the king of Assyria.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And Ahaz took the silver and gold that was found in the house of Jehovah, and in the treasures of the king’s house, and sent it for a present to the king of Assyria.
KJV
And Ahaz took the silver and gold that was found in the house of the Lord, and in the treasures of the king’s house, and sent it for a present to the king of Assyria.
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This verse in 2 Kings 16
Commentary
6 notes on this verseAnd Ahaz took the silver and gold that was found in the house of the Lord,.... Which Uzziah and Jotham had put there; for all that was found there in the times of Amaziah was taken away by Jehoash king of Israel, 2Ki 14:14. and in the treasures of the king's house; whatever gold and silver he had of his own: and sent it for a present to the king of Assyria; to obtain his help and assistance.
This site's exposition
I am your servant and your son
on 2 Kings 16:7-9
Ahaz answered the siege by making himself a vassal of Tiglath-pileser king of Assyria, in the covenant language “I am your servant and your son”. He paid with the silver and gold found in the house of the LORD, as Asa had done against Baasha at 1 Kings 15:18.
This site's exposition
as a gift to the king of Assyria
Gill observed that this silver and gold had been gathered under Uzziah and Jotham, since Jehoash of Israel had taken the rest at 14:14. The Hebrew word for gift, shohad, usually means a bribe. Exodus 23:8 forbids a judge to take it.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
I know not what authority he had thus to dispose of the public stock; but it is common for those that have brought themselves into straits by one sin to help themselves out by another; and those that have alienated themselves from God will make no difficulty of alienating any of his rights.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Compare the marginal reference and 1Ki 15:18. Political necessity was always held to justify the devotion of the temple treasure to secular purposes.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
8:4), that the confederate kings would not prevail against him, Ahaz sought aid from the Assyrian monarch, to purchase which he sent the treasures of the palace and temple. Tiglath-pileser marched against Damascus, slew Rezin the king, and carried the people of Damascus into captivity to Kir, which is thought to have been the city Karine (now Kerend), in Media.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
The words behind it
16 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַיִּקַּ֨ח | vaiyikach | and he took | H3947 → | 966 times |
| אָחָ֜ז | ʾachaz | Ahaz | H271 → | 42 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַכֶּ֣סֶף | hakesef | the silver | H3701 → | 403 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַזָּהָ֗ב | hazahav | the gold | H2091 → | 389 times |
| הַנִּמְצָא֙ | hanimtza' | which was found | H4672 → | 455 times |
| בֵּ֣ית | beit | [the] house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| יְהוָ֔ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וּבְאֹֽצְר֖וֹת | uveotzerot | and in [the] treasuries of | H214 → | 79 times |
| בֵּ֣ית | beit | [the] house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| הַמֶּ֑לֶךְ | hamelekh | the king | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| וַיִּשְׁלַ֥ח | vaiyishlach | and he sent [it] | H7971 → | 845 times |
| לְמֶֽלֶךְ־ | lemelekh- | to [the] king of | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| אַשּׁ֖וּר | ʾashur | Assyria | H804 → | 151 times |
| שֹֽׁחַד׃ | shochad | a gift | H7810 → |
וַיִּקַּ֨חand he took
vaiyikachH3947 →966 times
אָחָ֜זAhaz
ʾachazH271 →42 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הַכֶּ֣סֶףthe silver
hakesefH3701 →403 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
הַזָּהָ֗בthe gold
hazahavH2091 →389 times
הַנִּמְצָא֙which was found
hanimtza'H4672 →455 times
בֵּ֣ית[the] house of
beitH1004 →2046 times
יְהוָ֔הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
וּבְאֹֽצְר֖וֹתand in [the] treasuries of
uveotzerotH214 →79 times
בֵּ֣ית[the] house of
beitH1004 →2046 times
הַמֶּ֑לֶךְthe king
hamelekhH4428 →2525 times
וַיִּשְׁלַ֥חand he sent [it]
vaiyishlachH7971 →845 times
לְמֶֽלֶךְ־to [the] king of
lemelekh-H4428 →2525 times
אַשּׁ֖וּרAssyria
ʾashurH804 →151 times
שֹֽׁחַד׃a gift
shochadH7810 →
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Isaiah 7:17The LORD will bring on you and on your people and on the house of your father a time unlike any since the day Ephraim separated from Judah—He will bring the king of Assyria.”
it leads to
- Isaiah 10:5–6
Woe to Assyria, the rod of My anger; the staff in their hands is My wrath.
- Isaiah 8:7–8
the Lord will surely bring against them the mighty floodwaters of the Euphrates—the king of Assyria and all his pomp. It will overflow its channels and overrun its banks.
- Nehemiah 9:32
So now, our God, the great and mighty and awesome God who keeps His gracious covenant, do not view lightly all the hardship that has come upon us, and upon our kings and leaders,…
- 1 Kings 12:16–19
When all Israel saw that the king had refused to listen to them, they answered the king: “What portion do we have in David, and what inheritance in the son of Jesse? To your…
- 2 Chronicles 32:1–33
After all these acts of faithfulness, Sennacherib king of Assyria came and invaded Judah. He laid siege to the fortified cities, intending to conquer them for himself.
- Isaiah 10:5–6
Through
2 Chronicles 16:2So Asa withdrew the silver and gold from the treasuries of the house of the LORD and the royal palace, and he sent it with this message to Ben-hadad king of Aram, who was…
it leads to
- 2 Kings 18:15
Hezekiah gave him all the silver that was found in the house of the LORD and in the treasuries of the royal palace.
- 2 Kings 12:18
So King Joash of Judah took all the sacred objects dedicated by his fathers—Jehoshaphat, Jehoram, and Ahaziah, the kings of Judah—along with his own consecrated items and all the gold found in the treasuries…
- 2 Chronicles 28:21
Although Ahaz had taken a portion from the house of the LORD, from the royal palace, and from the princes and had presented it to the king of Assyria, it did not help him.
- 2 Kings 18:15
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies3
On this verse
About 2 Kings
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.