A key names an object associated with opening and closing, and its figurative uses concern access or authority defined by the passage. Jesus rebukes the experts in the law for taking away the key to knowledge, neither entering themselves nor allowing others to enter.
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Reader summary
Full entry for κλείς (G2807) · Open the biblical lexicon
A key names an object associated with opening and closing, and its figurative uses concern access or authority defined by the passage. Jesus rebukes the experts in the law for taking away the key to knowledge, neither entering themselves nor allowing others to enter.
The BSB source-word alignment has 6 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include key (4), keys (2).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 16:19. Its strongest book concentrations include Revelation (4), Luke (1), Matthew (1).
A key names an object associated with opening and closing, and its figurative uses concern access or authority defined by the passage. Jesus rebukes the experts in the law for taking away the key to knowledge, neither entering themselves nor allowing others to enter. Revelation presents the risen Jesus as holding the keys of Death and Hades. Its message to Philadelphia also describes Him as holding the key of David and opening what no one can shut.
These passages identify different spheres of access and name the accountable or rightful holder. They do not make knowledge an esoteric technique or transfer Christ's unrestricted authority to a teacher. Readers should ask what is opened, who holds the key, and what the speaker promises or condemns.
The key figures in a rebuke against obstructed knowledge, in Christ's authority over Death and Hades, and in His opening and shutting in Revelation's message to Philadelphia.
Woe to you experts in the law! For you have taken away the key to knowledge. You yourselves have not entered, and you have hindered those who were entering.”
Jesus charges the experts in the law with removing the key to knowledge and hindering others from entering, addressing their conduct in this confrontation.
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.
The risen Living One says He was dead and now lives forever, then identifies Himself as holding the keys of Death and Hades.
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, and what He shuts no one can open.
The holy and true One holds the key of David and opens or shuts decisively; the following address concerns the church in Philadelphia.
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders ItA compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
Greek word. Authority or access to something; metaphorically represents power to open or close spiritual realms.
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
6 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
a key
Read versea key
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Read verseFull New Testament corpus: 260 chapters, 7,957 verses, 140,628 tokens. Data source: honza/textus-receptus (data only), with authority check against byztxt/greektext-textus-receptus.
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
This word appears as a noun across 3 case and number patterns. The form changes show how the word functions in a sentence; they do not change the basic lexical meaning by themselves.
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Showing 1 selected witness from 6 lexical occurrence verses.
κλείς is built from this root:
Symbolizes authority over access to divine knowledge.Luke 11:45–54
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
The key image directs attention to accountable access. Luke's rebuke names teachers whose conduct obstructs entry rather than serving those who seek knowledge. Revelation gives a very different picture: the One who was dead and now lives holds authority over Death and Hades, and the holy and true One addresses a church whose strength is small. His authority is part of the assurance offered in those messages, not a transferable badge of unlimited human power.
Teaching may therefore examine whether guidance helps people attend to God's word while placing confidence in Christ rather than a controlling intermediary. The image should not be stretched into a complete theory of church office. Matthew's promise concerning Peter requires its own careful reading and cannot be settled by the dictionary meaning of the noun.
Rev.1.18
The Greek noun denotes a key, with figurative settings supplied by its objects and holders. Knowledge, Death and Hades, and David are contextual specifications; they must not be reduced to a single modern leadership formula.
Isaiah 22:22 assigns the key of David's house to Eliakim, with opening and shutting language echoed in Revelation 3. The comparison illuminates the authority image while preserving the different historical holder and Revelation's identification of the holy and true One.