Isaiah 22:22
in Isaiah 22I will place on his shoulder the key to the house of David. What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
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.
KJV
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.
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This verse in Isaiah 22
Commentary
12 notes on this verse(Verse 15, 16, etc.) Thus says the Lord, the God of hosts: Go, enter to him who dwells in the tabernacle, to Shebna, the overseer of the temple, and say to him: What are you doing here? or who are you here? for you have carved out a sepulchre here for yourself. You have carved out a lofty memorial for yourself diligently in the rock for your tent. Behold, the Lord will cast you down as one is cast down, like a cockerel; and he will lift you up like a cloak.
This site's exposition
My servant, Eliakim son of Hilkiah
on Isaiah 22:20-23
Eliakim receives what Shebna lost, "your authority", and becomes "a father to the dwellers of Jerusalem". The LORD places "the key to the house of David", "What he opens no one can shut". Revelation 3:7 gives the key of David to Christ, and Eliakim becomes "a throne of glory".
This site's exposition
the key to the house of David
Isaiah 9:6 lays the government on the shoulders of the child to be born, the same place the key of David is put here. Gill describes large keys of office hanging from the shoulder.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
For all these things will work for your destruction [i.e., Shebna's], since you have been deposed and rejected from the high priesthood, of which you showed yourself unworthy, God being a just judge who gives to each according to his worth. On you, then, he will bring these things; but on the other, Eliakim, whom he has assessed as his good servant and slave, he will invest with your robe and will honor by placing on him the crown of the high priesthood, whose ministry you had hitherto been entrusted with. For he is a man worthy of it.
(Verse 15 onward) Thus says the Lord God of hosts: Go, go into him who dwells in the tabernacle, to Shebna, the overseer of the Temple, and say to him: What are you doing here? Or who are you here, because you have dug for yourself here a tomb? You have dug your memorial on high, diligently in the rock you have made a dwelling for yourself. Behold, the Lord will carry you away: like the lifting of a rooster or like a garment he will lift you up. He will surely overthrow you and throw you into a wide and spacious land: there you shall die, and there shall be the chariots of your glory; the disgrace of your Lord's house. And I will drive you out from your office, and I will remove you from your position. And on that day, I will call my servant Eliakim son of Hilkiah. And I will clothe him with your robe, and I will strengthen him with your sash, and I will give your authority into his hand. And he will be like a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. And I will place the key of the house of David on his shoulder, and he will open, and no one shall shut; and he will shut, and no one shall open. And I will fasten him as a nail in a sure place; and he shall be for a glorious throne to his father's house. And they shall hang upon him all the glory of his father's house, the offspring and the issue, all vessels of small quantity, from the vessels of cups, even to all the vessels of flagons. In that day, saith the Lord of hosts, shall the nail that is fastened in the sure place be removed, and be cut down, and fall; and the burden that was upon it shall be cut off: for the Lord hath spoken it. We have already mentioned that Shebna was a high priest who betrayed the city to the Assyrians. […]
The Medieval Church1 voice
Second, as to the power which he had regarding the temple: and I will lay the key, which was of gold, of the house of David, that is, of the temple, for the building of which David prepared the materials, as is evident from 1 …
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder,.... In allusion either to magistrates carrying a key on their shoulder, hanging down from thence, having a hook at one end of it fit for that purpose; or having one embroidered on that part of their garment: or one carried before them by their servants.
Our Lord Jesus describes his own power as Mediator by an allusion to this ( Rev. iii. 7 ), that he has the key of David, wherewith he opens and no man shuts, he shuts and no man opens. His power in the kingdom of heaven, and in the ordering of all the affairs of that kingdom, is absolute, irresistible, and uncontrollable.
4 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
The key - The government, the power of opening and shutting, of letting men into it, or putting them out of it, whereof a key is a fit emblem. Shoulder - He mentions the shoulder rather than the hand, in which keys are commonly carried, from some ceremony then in use, of carrying a key upon the shoulder of the officer of state.
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder - As the robe and the baldric, mentioned in the preceding verse, were the ensigns of power and authority, so likewise was the key the mark of office, either sacred or civil. The priestess of Juno is said to be the key-bearer of the goddess, κλειδουχος Ἡρας· Aeschyl. Suppl. 299. A female high in office under a great queen has the same title: - Καλλιθοη κλειδουχος Ολυμπιαδος βασιλειης. “Callithoe was the key-bearer of the Olympian queen.” Auctor Phoronidis ap. Clem. Alex. p. 418, edit. Potter.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
But the phrase is rather figurative for sustaining the government on one's shoulders. Eliakim, as his name implies, is here plainly a type of the God-man Christ, the son of "David," of whom Isaiah (Isa 9:6) uses the same language as the former clause of this verse.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
And the key - A key is that by which a house is locked or opened. To possess that is, therefore, to have free access to it, or control over it. Thus we give possession of a house by giving the “key” into the hands of a purchaser, implying that it is his; that he has free access to it; that he can close it when he pleases, and that no other one, without his permission, has the right of access to it. Of the house of David - Of the house which David built for his royal residence; that is, of the palace. This house was on Mount Zion; and to have the key of that house was to have the chief authority at court, or to be prime minister (see the note at Isa 22:15). To be put in possession of that key, therefore, was the mark of office, or was a sign that he was entrusted with the chief authority in the government. Will I lay upon his shoulder - (see Isa 9:6). This seems to have been designed as an emblem of office. But in what way it was done is unknown. Lowth supposes that the key was of considerable magnitude, and was made crooked, and that thus it would lie readily on the shoulder. He has observed also, that this was a well-known badge or emblem of office. Thus the priestess of Ceres is described as having a key on the shoulder (Callim. “Ceres,” ver. 45); and thus in AEschyl. “Supp.” 299, a female high in office is described as having a key. But it is not known in what way the key was borne. It may have been borne on the shoulder, being so made as to be easily carried there; or it may have been attached to the shoulder by a belt or strap, as a sword is; or it may have been a mere emblem or figure fashioned into the robe, and worn as a sign of office; or the figure of a key may have been worn on the shoulder as an epaulet is now, as a sign of office and authority. […]
The words behind it
12 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְנָתַתִּ֛י | venatati | and I will put | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| מַפְתֵּ֥חַ | mafteach | [the] key of | H4668 → | |
| בֵּית־ | beit- | [the] house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| דָּוִ֖ד | david | David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| שִׁכְמ֑וֹ | shikhmo | shoulder his | H7926 → | 21 times |
| וּפָתַח֙ | ufatach | and he will open | H6605 → | 144 times |
| וְאֵ֣ין | veein | and there not | H369 → | 789 times |
| סֹגֵ֔ר | soger | [will be one who] shuts | H5462 → | 91 times |
| וְסָגַ֖ר | vesagar | and he will shut | H5462 → | 91 times |
| וְאֵ֥ין | veein | and there not | H369 → | 789 times |
| פֹּתֵֽחַ׃ | poteach | [will be one who] opens | H6605 → | 144 times |
וְנָתַתִּ֛יand I will put
venatatiH5414 →2011 times
מַפְתֵּ֥חַ[the] key of
mafteachH4668 →
בֵּית־[the] house of
beit-H1004 →2046 times
דָּוִ֖דDavid
davidH1732 →999 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
שִׁכְמ֑וֹshoulder his
shikhmoH7926 →21 times
וּפָתַח֙and he will open
ufatachH6605 →144 times
וְאֵ֣יןand there not
veeinH369 →789 times
סֹגֵ֔ר[will be one who] shuts
sogerH5462 →91 times
וְסָגַ֖רand he will shut
vesagarH5462 →91 times
וְאֵ֥יןand there not
veeinH369 →789 times
פֹּתֵֽחַ׃[will be one who] opens
poteachH6605 →144 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Revelation 1:18the Living One. I was dead, and behold, now I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of Death and of Hades.
it leads to
- Romans 6:9
For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, He cannot die again; death no longer has dominion over Him.
- Revelation 3:7
To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These are the words of the One who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What He opens no one can shut,…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Hebrews 7:25
Therefore He is able to save completely those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to intercede for them.
- Romans 14:8–9
If we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.
- Psalms 68:20
Our God is a God of deliverance; the Lord GOD is our rescuer from death.
- Romans 6:9
Through
Revelation 3:7To the angel of the church in Philadelphia write: These are the words of the One who is holy and true, who holds the key of David. What He opens no one can shut,…
it leads to
- Matthew 16:19
I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”
- Revelation 1:18
the Living One. I was dead, and behold, now I am alive forever and ever! And I hold the keys of Death and of Hades.
- Job 12:14
What He tears down cannot be rebuilt; the man He imprisons cannot be released.
- Matthew 16:19
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies1
About Isaiah
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 11 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Eusebius of Caesarea, COMMENTARY ON ISAIAH 148:6-20; Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Isaiah; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Isaiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Thomas Aquinas, Commentary on Isaiah.