Isaiah 39:2

And Hezekiah was glad of them Not only was his vanity flattered, but the arrival of the envoys fell in with political projects to which he was even then too ready to lend his ear. The reading is decidedly preferable to the flat and meaningless "heard of them" in 2 Kings 20:13 (not LXX.).

the house of his precious things R.V. marg. has "house of his spicery," identifying the word with one found in Genesis 37:25; Genesis 43:11. But this rendering has only an apparent justification in the "spices" mentioned below. The right meaning is given by the Targ. and Peshito: treasure-house. According to the younger Delitzsch it is the Assyrian bit nakanti. It is obvious that Hezekiah's treasury was still full, which could not have been the case after the ruinous fine exacted by Sennacherib (2 Kings 18:14-16).

the spices, and the precious ointment the spices and the fine oil. (Cf. 2 Chronicles 32:27.) These natural products of the land were probably stored for commerce and are mentioned as a source of wealth.

the house of his armour better: his armoury. It is probably the same as the "house of the forest (of Lebanon)" in ch. Isaiah 22:8.