נְכֹת (ne.khot)
ne.khot
treasure
H:N-FQuick Reference
- Language
- Biblical Hebrew
- Testament
- Old Testament
- Occurrences
- 2 verses
- Root
- —
- Part of speech
- H:N-F
Word Overview
The Hebrew noun nekot refers to a store of valuable goods, such as silver, gold, or precious objects kept in reserve. It appears only twice in the Old Testament, both times within narratives describing royal wealth and military conflict. In 2 Kings 18:15, King Hezekiah strips the temple doors to pay tribute to the Assyrian king Sennacherib, using this specific term for the accumulated treasure of the house of the Lord.
The word emphasizes the physical accumulation of riches rather than abstract value or spiritual wealth. Its limited usage highlights the tangible nature of ancient royal economies, where stored metal served as both currency and a symbol of national power. The sources indicate that nekot denotes these concrete assets when they are gathered or dispersed during times of political pressure.
Translators typically render nekot as "treasure" to distinguish it from words meaning general wealth or inheritance. This lexical choice preserves the sense of a specific, hoarded collection of items rather than broad prosperity. The term anchors the biblical narrative in the material realities of the ancient Near East, where control over stored resources was central to state survival.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The word neket points to stored wealth—silver, gold, and precious goods kept in reserve. In the Old Testament, it appears only twice, both tied to King Hezekiah’s dealings with powerful empires. These passages remind us that material riches are temporary and subject to political pressure.
For your faith, this word invites reflection on where you store your security. When nations hoard gold for survival, Christians are called to trust in God’s provision rather than accumulated assets. The story of Hezekiah shows how even holy things can be used for human ends under duress.
This term grounds us in the reality that ancient economies relied on tangible reserves. Yet Scripture consistently points beyond material wealth to spiritual treasures held in heaven. Your value does not depend on what you accumulate, but on whose you are.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 2 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- treasure/ his2×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- נְכֹת֡/וֹ2×
Key Verses
-
II Kings 20:13
Hezekiah listened to them, and showed them all the storehouse of his precious things—the silver, the gold, the spices, and the precious oil, and the house of his armor, and all that was found in his treasures. There was nothing in his house, or in all his dominion, that Hezekiah didn’t show them.
This verse uses neket to describe Hezekiah’s display of royal wealth to Babylonian envoys, highlighting how stored treasures became tools of political diplomacy rather than symbols of divine favor.
-
Isaiah 39:2
Hezekiah was pleased with them, and showed them the house of his precious things, the silver, the gold, the spices, and the precious oil, and all the house of his armor, and all that was found in his treasures. There was nothing in his house, nor in all his dominion, that Hezekiah didn’t show them.
Here the same word appears in Isaiah’s parallel account, emphasizing that Hezekiah’s pride in his accumulated riches led to prophetic warning about future exile and loss of those very treasures.