מלכים ב כ׳:י״ב-כ״א

כי שמע כי חלה. ועד אותו היום לא היה אדם חולה וחיה, ואיך שמע, למוד היה לאכול בשלש שעות ביום, וישן עד תשע, כיון שחזר גלגל חמה לחזקיהו, ניעור בתשע שעות ומצא שהוא שחרית, בקש להרוג את עבדיו, אמר אתם הנחתם אותי לישן יום ולילה, אמרו, גלגל חמה חזר, אמר להם: מי החזירו, אמרו לו: אלהיו של חזקיהו, כדאיתא בפסיקתא:

For he heard that Chizkiyohu was ill. And until that day no person who had ever been ill, had become well. Now, how did he hear? He was accustomed to eat after three hours [had elapsed] in the day, and he would sleep until the ninth [hour of the day]. Because the cycle of the sun had gone backwards on account of Chizkiyohu, he awoke after nine hours [of the day] and found that it was morning, and he wanted to kill his servants. He said, ”You let me sleep a day and a night!” They replied, “The sun's cycle went backwards.” He asked them, “Who brought it back?” They said to him, “The God of Chizkiyohu,”¹¹He then sent messengers to inquire about this great event and eventually heard about Chizkiyohu's miraculous cure. See Maseches Sanhedrin 96a. as is [stated] in Pesikta.

בית נכתה. בית גנזי בשמיו, כמו (בראשית לז כה): נכאת וצרי ולוט:

His treasure house. The storehouse of his spices,¹²נכאת is a term used to describe choice possessions. Accordingly, the Gemara presents different opinions. Some say נכאת is “his treasure house,” others say, “his most powerful weapons,” i.e., his armory. Yet others say that he had his wife [=בית נכתה] wait on them and pour their drinks. See Maseches Sanhedrin 104a and Rashi there as in, “spices [=נכאת], balm, and lotus.”¹³Bereishis 37:25..

ואת שמן הטוב. יש פותרין שמן המשחה, ויש פותרים שמן אפרסמון (בלסמון), שהוא מצוי בארץ ישראל, שנאמר (ביחזקאל כז יז): יהודה וישראל המה רוכליך בחטי מנית ופנג. וראיתי בספר יוסיפון: פנג הוא אפרסמון, וגדל ביריחו, ועל שם הריח נקרא יריחו:

The fine oil. Some interpret this as the anointment oil, and others interpret it as balsam oil, which is found in Eretz Yisroel, as it is said, ”Yehudah and [Eretz] Yisroel, they were your merchants, with wheat of מנית and פנג,”¹⁴Yechezkeil 27:17. and I saw in the book of Yosephun, that פנג is balsam, and it grows in Yericho, and because of its aroma [=ריח], it is called Yericho [=יריחו].

לא היה דבר. את הארון והלוחות וספר התורה (פרקי דרבי אליעזר פרק נב, עיין שיר השירים רבה ג ד):

There was nothing. [He even showed them] the Ark, the Luchos, and the Torah Scroll.

מארץ רחוקה באו. זה אחד משלשה שבדקן הקב"ה ומצאן עביט של מים עכורים, קין, יחזקיהו, ובלעם קין, (בראשית ד ט) - לא ידעתי השומר אחי אנכי, היה לו לומר רבונו של עולם הלא כל הנסתרות גלויות לך, כדאיתא בתנחומא (ראה במדבר רבה כ ו). בלעם - שאמר לו המקום (במדבר כב ט) מי האנשים האלה עמך, היה לו לומר ה' אלהים אתה ידעת, כמו שנאמר ביחזקאל (לז ג), והוא השיב בגאוה, בלק בן צפור - מלך מואב שלח אלי, הרבה מבקשים יש לי. חזקיהו - היה לו להשיב לישעיהו, אתה נביאו של מקום, ואתה שואל אלי, התחיל חזקיה מתגאה ואמר: מארץ רחוקה באו אלי, לכך נענש, ועל ששמח עליהם והאכילם על שלחנו (סנהדרין קד א):

”They came from a distant land.” This is one of the three [men] whom the Holy One, Blessed Is He, tested and found them to be a pot of muddy water: [The three are,] Kayin, Chizkiyohu and Bilam. Kayin [said], “I don't know, am I my brother's keeper?”¹⁵Bereishis 4:9. He should have said, ”Master of the Universe are all hidden things not revealed to You?” as it is [stated] in [Midrash] Tanchuma. Bilam, when the Omnipresent said to him, ”Who are these men with you?”¹⁶Bamidbar 22:9. he should have said, “Adonoy God, You know!” as it is stated concerning Yechezkeil,¹⁷Yechezkeil 37:3. but he replied arrogantly, ”Balak son of Tzippor, king of Moav, sent them to me,”¹⁸Bamidbar 22:10. [i.e.,] many people seek me. Chizkiyohu should have replied to Yeshayohu, ”You are the prophet of the Omnipresent, yet you are asking me?” [Instead,] Chizkiyohu began to become haughty, and said, ”They came to me from a distant land.”¹⁹Yeshayohu 39:3. Therefore, he was punished, and also [he was punished] because he rejoiced over them,²⁰God's wrath was mainly because Chizkiyohu distracted his visitors from God's glory by seeking to impress them with his own wealth. See II Divrei Hayomim 32:25. and served them at his table.

לא יותר דבר. מדה כנגד מדה, לא היה דבר:

Nothing will remain. You shall be paid measure for measure, [as stated above,] “There was nothing.”²¹Verse 15 above.

ומבניך. חנניה מישאל ועזריה:

And some of your sons. Chananyoh, Mishoeil, and Azaryoh.²²Some say that they were eunuchs, because it was the custom to castrate those who served in the palace. Targum maintains that סריסים means ‘officers.’ It is merely a figurative expression used here to symbolize that paganism's impotence was acknowledged in their time. Chananyoh, Mishoeil and Azaryoh would risk their lives by defying the order to worship idols and be miraculously saved. See Maseches Sanhedrin 93b.

טוב דבר ה'. מאחר שבימי יהיה שלום:

”The word of Adonoy … is good.” Because in my days there will be peace.²³God's punishment would not be meted out until after his death.

ואשר עשה את הברכה וגו'. בדברי הימים:

And how he made the pool, etc. In Divrei Hayomim.²⁴See II Divrei Hayomim 32:3-4 and 30. When Sancheiriv began his march on Yerusholayim, Chizkiyohu closed off all the springs and streams outside Yerusholayim as a defensive strategy.