Reference: Key
Easton
frequently mentioned in Scripture. It is called in Hebrew maphteah, i.e., the opener (Jg 3:25); and in the Greek New Testament kleis, from its use in shutting (Mt 16:19; Lu 11:52; Re 1:18, etc.). Figures of ancient Egyptian keys are frequently found on the monuments, also of Assyrian locks and keys of wood, and of a large size (comp. Isa 22:22).
The word is used figuratively of power or authority or office (Isa 22:22; Re 3:7; 1:8; comp. Re 9:1; 20:1; comp. also Mt 16:19; 18:18). The "key of knowledge" (Lu 11:52; comp. Mt 23:13) is the means of attaining the knowledge regarding the kingdom of God. The "power of the keys" is a phrase in general use to denote the extent of ecclesiastical authority.
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And they waited till they were utterly at a loss; but when he still did not open the doors of the roof chamber, they took the key and opened them; and there lay their lord dead on the floor.
And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; and he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.
And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; and he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.
And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of the heavens; and whatsoever thou mayest bind upon the earth shall be bound in the heavens; and whatsoever thou mayest loose on the earth shall be loosed in the heavens.
And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of the heavens; and whatsoever thou mayest bind upon the earth shall be bound in the heavens; and whatsoever thou mayest loose on the earth shall be loosed in the heavens.
Verily I say to you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on the earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever ye shall loose on the earth shall be loosed in heaven.
But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for ye shut up the kingdom of the heavens before men; for ye do not enter, nor do ye suffer those that are entering to go in.
Woe unto you, the doctors of the law, for ye have taken away the key of knowledge; yourselves have not entered in, and those who were entering in ye have hindered.
Woe unto you, the doctors of the law, for ye have taken away the key of knowledge; yourselves have not entered in, and those who were entering in ye have hindered.
I am the Alpha and the Omega, saith the Lord God, he who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.
and the living one: and I became dead, and behold, I am living to the ages of ages, and have the keys of death and of hades.
And to the angel of the assembly in Philadelphia write: These things saith the holy, the true; he that has the key of David, he who opens and no one shall shut, and shuts and no one shall open:
And the fifth angel sounded his trumpet: and I saw a star out of the heaven fallen to the earth; and there was given to it the key of the pit of the abyss.
And I saw an angel descending from the heaven, having the key of the abyss, and a great chain in his hand.
Fausets
Song 5:4-5. A piece of wood, from seven inches to two feet long, fitted with pegs which correspond to small holes in the bolt within; the key put through a hole draws the bolt. The symbol of authority to open or shut (Isa 22:22; Re 3:7; 1:18). A chamberlain's (eunuch) badge of office is often a key, hung by a kerchief "on the shoulders" (Isa 9:6). The power of the keys was given to Peter and the other apostles only at times (Mt 16:19; 18:18) when, and in so far as, Christ made him and them infallible. Peter rightly opened the gospel door to the Gentiles (Acts 10; Ac 11:17-18; 14:27), but he wrongly tried to shut it again (Ga 2:11-18; compare Lu 11:52).
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My beloved put in his hand by the hole of the door; And my bowels yearned for him. I rose up to open to my beloved; And my hands dropped with myrrh, And my fingers with liquid myrrh, Upon the handles of the lock.
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder; and his name is called Wonderful, Counsellor, Mighty God, Father of Eternity, Prince of Peace.
And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; and he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.
And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of the heavens; and whatsoever thou mayest bind upon the earth shall be bound in the heavens; and whatsoever thou mayest loose on the earth shall be loosed in the heavens.
Verily I say to you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on the earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever ye shall loose on the earth shall be loosed in heaven.
Woe unto you, the doctors of the law, for ye have taken away the key of knowledge; yourselves have not entered in, and those who were entering in ye have hindered.
If then God has given them the same gift as also to us when we had believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who indeed was I to be able to forbid God? And when they heard these things they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then indeed God has to the nations also granted repentance to life.
And having arrived, and having brought together the assembly, they related to them all that God had done with them, and that he had opened a door of faith to the nations.
But when Peter came to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be condemned: for before that certain came from James, he ate with those of the nations; but when they came, he drew back and separated himself, fearing those of the circumcision; read more. and the rest of the Jews also played the same dissembling part with him; so that even Barnabas was carried away too by their dissimulation. But when I saw that they do not walk straightforwardly, according to the truth of the glad tidings, I said to Peter before all, If thou, being a Jew, livest as the nations and not as the Jews, how dost thou compel the nations to Judaize? We, Jews by nature, and not sinners of the nations, but knowing that a man is not justified on the principle of works of law nor but by the faith of Jesus Christ, we also have believed on Christ Jesus, that we might be justified on the principle of the faith of Christ; and not of works of law; because on the principle of works of law no flesh shall be justified. Now if in seeking to be justified in Christ we also have been found sinners, then is Christ minister of sin? Far be the thought. For if the things I have thrown down, these I build again, I constitute myself a transgressor.
and the living one: and I became dead, and behold, I am living to the ages of ages, and have the keys of death and of hades.
And to the angel of the assembly in Philadelphia write: These things saith the holy, the true; he that has the key of David, he who opens and no one shall shut, and shuts and no one shall open:
Hastings
A. R. S. Kennedy.
Morish
Used symbolically for authority to open or to shut. Spoken of Eliakim, 'established by God,' as having the key of the house of David laid upon his shoulder: "he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open." Isa 22:22. He is a type of the Lord Jesus, as spoken of in Re 3:7, who has also the keys of hades and of death. Re 1:18. To Peter were given the keys of the kingdom of heaven, Mt 16:19, which he opened to the Jews in Acts 2, and to the Gentiles in Acts 10. The Lord charged the doctors of the law with taking away the key of knowledge. Lu 11:52. This they did by their traditions and by hindering those who would have entered in to the blessings brought by Christ.
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And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; and he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.
And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of the heavens; and whatsoever thou mayest bind upon the earth shall be bound in the heavens; and whatsoever thou mayest loose on the earth shall be loosed in the heavens.
Woe unto you, the doctors of the law, for ye have taken away the key of knowledge; yourselves have not entered in, and those who were entering in ye have hindered.
and the living one: and I became dead, and behold, I am living to the ages of ages, and have the keys of death and of hades.
And to the angel of the assembly in Philadelphia write: These things saith the holy, the true; he that has the key of David, he who opens and no one shall shut, and shuts and no one shall open:
Smith
Key.
The key of a native Oriental lock is a piece of wood, from seven inches to two feet in length, fitted with the wires or short nails, which, being inserted laterally into the hollow bolt which serves as a lock, raises other pins within the staple so as to allow the bolt to be drawn back. (Keys were sometimes of bronze or iron, and so large that one was as much as a man could carry. They are used in Scripture as a symbol of authority and power. Giving keys to a person signifies the intrusting of him with an important charge.
In England in modern times certain officers of the government receive, at their induction into office, a golden key. --ED.)
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And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of the heavens; and whatsoever thou mayest bind upon the earth shall be bound in the heavens; and whatsoever thou mayest loose on the earth shall be loosed in the heavens.
Watsons
KEY is frequently mentioned in Scripture, as well in a natural as in a figurative sense. The keys of the ancients were very different from ours; because their doors and trunks were closed generally with bands, and the key served only to loosen or fasten these bands in a certain manner. In a moral sense key has many significations: "And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder: so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open," Isa 22:22,
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And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder; and he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open.
And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of the heavens; and whatsoever thou mayest bind upon the earth shall be bound in the heavens; and whatsoever thou mayest loose on the earth shall be loosed in the heavens.
Verily I say to you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on the earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever ye shall loose on the earth shall be loosed in heaven.
and the living one: and I became dead, and behold, I am living to the ages of ages, and have the keys of death and of hades.