Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 2 Kings 19:18

And have cast their gods into the fire: for they [were] no gods, but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone: therefore they have destroyed them.

18. have cast their gods into the fire ] A conquering heathen would shew his contempt for the nations which he overcame by destroying the objects of their worship, thus practically telling the vanquished that his gods were superior to theirs. Moreover such destruction would very often be a source of booty, for the images, of wood and stone underneath, were often richly overlaid with gold and silver.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

Have cast their gods into the fire – In general the Assyrians carried off the images of the gods from the temples of the conquered nations, and deposited them in their own shrines, as at once trophies of victory and proof of the superiority of the Assyrian deities over those of their enemies. But sometimes the gods are said to have been destroyed or burnt with fire; which was probably done when the idols were of rude workmanship or coarse material; and when it was inconvenient to encumber an army with spoils so weighty and difficult, of transport.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

[See comments on 2Ki 19:1]

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

(18) And have cast (put) their gods into the fire.Comp. 1Ch. 14:12. The Assyrians emphatic question, Where are the gods? implied their annihilation.

For they were no gods.This idea is common in the latter half of the Book of Isaiah. The question has been raised whether the compiler of Kings has not made Hezekiah express a stricter monotheism than had been attained by the religious thought of his days. But if, as Kuenen alleges, no such definite statement of this belief is to be found in Isaiah and Micah (but comp. Isa. 2:18-21; Isa. 8:10; Isa. 10:10 seq.) we may still point to the words of a third prophet of that agenamely, Amos the herdman of Tekoah. (Comp. Amo. 4:13; Amo. 5:8; Amo. 9:6-7.) To Amos . . . the doctrine of creation is full of practical meaning. He that formed the mountains and created the wind, that declareth unto man what is His thought, that maketh the morning darkness and treadeth on the high places of the earth, Jehovah, the God of hosts is His name. This supreme God cannot be thought of as having no interest or purpose beyond Israel. It was He that brought Israel out of Egypt, but it was He too who brought the Philistines from Caphtor and the Arameans from Kir. Every movement of history is Jehovahs work. It is not Asshur but Jehovah who has created the Assyrian empire; He has a purpose of His own in raising up the vast overwhelming strength, and suspending it as a threat of imminent destruction over Israel and the surrounding nations. To Amos, therefore, the question is not what Jehovah as king of Israel will do for His people against the Assyrian, but what the Sovereign of the world designs to effect by the terrible instrument He has created (Robertson Smith). We do not think, however, that the utterance of Hezekiah on this occasion was necessarily recorded in writing at the time. The prayer may well be a free composition put into the kings mouth by the author of this narrative.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

18. Cast their gods into the fire The gods here meant were the idols, or graven images of wood and stone, as the sequel shows. Having thus destroyed the idols of many nations, and the gods not resisting, well might the king of Assyria ask, Where are those gods? 2Ki 18:34. “The application of the word gods to the mere external image is common in profane as well as sacred writings, and arises from the fact that all idolaters, whatever they may theoretically hold as to the nature of their deities, identify them practically with the stocks and stones to which they pay their adorations.” Alexander.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments