Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Isaiah 22:22
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.
22. the key of the house of David ] The symbol of unlimited authority over the royal household, carrying with it a similar influence in all affairs of state; like Pharaoh’s signet-ring in the hands of Joseph, Gen 41:40-44 upon his shoulder ] Cf. Isa 9:6; and with the whole verse comp. Rev 3:7.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
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. If the locks were made of wood, as we have reason to suppose, then the key was probably large, and would answer well for a sign of office. How much was I delighted when I first saw the people, especially the Moors, going along the streets with each his key on his shoulder. The handle is generally made of brass (though sometimes of silver), and is often nicely worked in a device of filigrane. The way it is carried is to have the corner of a kerchief tied to the ring; the key is then placed on the shoulder, and the kerchief hangs down in front. At other times they have a bunch of large keys, and then they have half on one side of the shoulder, and half on the other. For a man thus to march along with a large key on his shoulder, shows at once that he is a person of consequence. Raman is in great favor with the Modeliar, for he now carries the key. Whose key have you got on your shoulder? I shall carry my key on my own shoulder. – (Roberts)
So he shall open … – This phrase means, that he should have the highest authority in the government, and is a promise of unlimited power. Our Saviour has made use of the same expression to denote the unlimited power conferred on his apostles in his church Mat 16:19; and has applied it also to himself in Rev 3:7.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 22. 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, AEschyl. Suppl. 299. A female high in office under a great queen has the same title:-
.
“Callithoe was the key-bearer of the Olympian queen.”
Auctor Phoronidis ap. Clem. Alex. p. 418, edit. Potter. This mark of office was likewise among the Greeks, as here in Isaiah, borne on the shoulder; the priestess of Ceres, , had the key on her shoulder. Callim. Ceres, ver. 45. To comprehend how the key could be borne on the shoulder, it will be necessary to say something of the form of it: but without entering into a long disquisition, and a great deal of obscure learning, concerning the locks and keys of the ancients, it will be sufficient to observe, that one sort of keys, and that probably the most ancient, was of considerable magnitude, and as to the shape, very much bent and crooked. Aratus, to give his reader an idea of the form of the constellation Cassiopeia, compares it to a key. It must be owned that the passage is very obscure; but the learned Huetius has bestowed a great deal of pains in explaining it, Animadvers. in Manilii, lib. i. 355; and I think has succeeded very well in it. Homer Odyss. xxi. 6, describes the key of Ulysses’ storehouse as , of a large curvature; which Eustathius explains by saying it was , in shape like a reaphook. Huetius says the constellation Cassiopeia answers to this description; the stars to the north making the curve part, that is, the principal part of the key; the southern stars, the handle. The curve part was introduced into the key-hole; and, being properly directed by the handle, took hold of the bolts within, and moved them from their places. We may easily collect from this account, that such a key would lie very well upon the shoulder; that it must be of some considerable size and weight, and could hardly be commodiously carried otherwise. Ulysses’ key was of brass, and the handle of ivory: but this was a royal key. The more common ones were probably of wood. In Egypt they have no other than wooden locks and keys to this day; even the gates of Cairo have no better. Baumgarten, Peregr. i. 18. Thevenot, part ii., chap. 10. But was it not the representation of a key, either cut out in cloth and sewed on the shoulder of the garment, or embroidered on that part of the garment itself? The idea of a huge key of a gate, in any kind of metal, laid across the shoulder, is to me very ridiculous.
In allusion to the image of the key as the ensign of power, the unlimited extent of that power is expressed with great clearness as well as force by the sole and exclusive authority to open and shut. Our Saviour, therefore, has upon a similar occasion made use of a like manner of expression, Mt 16:19; and in Re 3:7 has applied to himself the very words of the prophet.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
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; whence the delivering of the keys of a house or city into the hands of another, is a sign to signify and confirm the giving him the power and possession of it.
Lay upon his shoulder; he mentions the shoulder rather than the hand, in which keys are commonly carried, either from some ceremony then in use, of carrying a key upon the shoulder, either of the officer of state himself, or of another in his name and stead; or to signify that this was a key of greater weight than ordinary, and that government, which is designed by this key, is a heavy burden, and therefore in Scripture phrase said to be upon the shoulder, as Isa 9:6.
None shall shut against his will, or without his commission or consent.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
22. keyemblem of his officeover the house; to “open” or “shut”; accessrested with him.
upon . . . shoulderSokeys are carried sometimes in the East, hanging from the kerchief onthe shoulder. But the phrase is rather figurative for sustainingthe 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) usesthe same language as the former clause of this verse. In Re3:7, the same language as the latter clause is found (compare Job12:14).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
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. It regards either the keys of the temple; or rather the key of the king’s house, which it was proper should be delivered to him as treasurer and steward of it; the Targum takes in both,
“and I will give the key of the house of the sanctuary, and the government of the house of David, into his hand.”
In the mystical sense, Christ is said to have this key, Re 3:7 where the following words are applied to him:
so he shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open; all which is expressive of the government of the church being on his shoulders, and of his absolute and uncontrollable power over it; who opens the treasures of his word, of his grace, and of wisdom and knowledge, and communicates them unto, and shuts or hides them from, whom he pleases; who opens and shuts the doors of his church, his house, and lets in, and keeps out, whom he thinks fit; and who also opens and shuts the door of the kingdom of heaven, and introduces into it his own people, and excludes others.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
22. And the key of the house of David. (92) This expression is metaphorical, and we need not spend much time, as some do, in drawing from it an allegorical meaning; for it is taken from an ordinary custom of men. The keys of the house are delivered to those who are appointed to be stewards, that they may have the full power of opening and shutting according to their own pleasure. By “the house of David” is meant “the royal house.” This mode of expression was customary among the people, because it had been promised to David that his kingdom would be for ever. (2Sa 7:13; Psa 132:11.) That is the reason why the kingdom was commonly called “the house of David.”
The key is put in the singular number for keys. Though “keys” are usually carried in the hands, yet he says that they are laid on the shoulders, (93) because he is describing an important charge. Yet nothing more is meant than that the charge and the whole government of the house are committed to him, that he may regulate everything according to his pleasure; and we know that the delivering of keys is commonly regarded as a token of possession.
Some commentators have viewed this passage as referring to Christ, but improperly; for the Prophet draws a comparison between two men, Shebna and Eliakim. Shebna shall be deprived of his office, and Eliakim shall succeed him. What has this to do with Christ? For Eliakim was not a type of Christ, and the Prophet does not here describe any hidden mystery, but borrows a comparison from the ordinary practice of men, as if the keys were delivered to one who has been appointed to be steward, as has been already said. For the same reason Christ calls the office of teaching the word, (Mat 16:19,) “the keys of the kingdom of heaven;” so that it is idle and foolish to spend much time in endeavoring to find a hidden reason, when the matter is plain, and needs no ingenuity. The reason is, that ministers, by the preaching of the word, open the entrance into heaven, and lead to Christ, who alone is “the way.” (Joh 14:6.) By the keys, therefore, he means here the government of the king’s house, because the principal charge of it would be delivered to Eliakim at the proper time.
(92) Bogus footnote
(93) Bogus footnote
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(22) And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder . . .The key of the kings treasure-chambers and of the gates of the palace was the natural symbol of the chamberlains or viziers office, and, as in Isa. 9:6, it was solemnly laid upon the shoulder of the new official, perhaps as representing the burden of the responsibilities of the duties of his office. In the keys of the kingdom of heaven, in Mat. 16:19, and again in Rev. 3:7, as also in the custom of admitting a Rabbi to his office by giving him a key, we have a reproduction of the same emblem.
So he shall open, and none shall shut . . .The words paint vividly the supremacy of the office to which Eliakim was to be called. He alone was to decide who was to be admitted into the kings chamber, and for whom the kings treasury was to be opened. In Rev. 3:7, the symbolism is reproduced in its higher application to the King of kings.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Isa 22:22. And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder In the former verses the prophet declares the investiture of Eliakim with the office and dignities of Shebna, as well as the goodness of Eliakim’s disposition. He here says metaphorically, that the keys of the house of David shall be upon his shoulder: i.e. the entire government and administration of the house: so the Chaldee paraphrast explains it. This has been often and justly applied to the Lord JESUS. See Rev 3:7 and Isa 9:6.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Isa 22:22 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.
Ver. 22. And the key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder. ] Rulers have their back burdens.
“ Fructus honos oneris: fructus honoris onus. ”
The meaning is, he shall have chief authority under the king, together with dexterity and discretion to manage it aright. And herein Eliakim was a type of Christ. Rev 3:7 Let us pray for such Eliakims as a common blessing.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
so = and.
open and. shut. Put by Figure of speech Metonymy (of Adjunct), for power of administration. Compare Rev 3:7, which shows that the fulfilment culminates in Messiah.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
open
Here the prophecy looks forward to Christ. Rev 3:7.
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
And the key: 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. To comprehend how the key could be borne on the shoulder, it will be sufficient to observe, that the ancient keys were of considerable magnitude, and much bent. Mat 16:18, Mat 16:19, Rev 1:18
so he: Job 12:14, Mat 18:18, Mat 18:19, Rev 3:7
Reciprocal: Num 20:26 – General Job 31:36 – I Isa 9:6 – the government
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
HE THAT OPENETH AND THAT SHUTTETH
The key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder.
Isa 22:22
I. The Divine Man stands behind the earthly type in these words in majestic beauty.These things saith He that is holy, He that is true, He that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and none shall shut, and that shutteth and none openeth. Behold I have set before thee a door opened, which none can shut. Words of incomparable splendour, capable of endless application.
II. Let Jesus open each day of service, each opportunity of ministry, each door into another year; each new chamber of life, and knowledge and opportunity, and remember that He Who sets before us open doors is He Who knows our works, and that we have but little strength. He will not open a door leading into a passage of life beyond our strength to tread. The open door will reveal to us possibilities within our reach of which we had not dreamt, and when once a door is opened, though access to it may be beset, as in Bunyans vision, by armed men, and though strong pressure is brought to hear upon it, for its closing let us dare to persevere against disease and pestilence and opposition, relying on these sublime words, None shall shut. Dear soul! say it to thyself repeatedly, None shall shut.
III. But the Lord shuts doors.The Spirit of Jesus suffered them not to go into Bithynia. Down a long corridor of closed doors we may sometimes have to pass. It seems heartbreaking to see doors labelled Friendship, Love, Home, shut against us, but beyond them there is the one unclosed door through which we shall enter our true life.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
22:22 And the {x} 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.
(x) I will commit to him the full charge and government of the king’s house.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Eliakim would bear authority to administer the affairs of David’s royal house, which the key on the shoulder symbolizes. His decisions would be binding, as when one unlocks or locks a door with a key (cf. Mat 16:19; Mat 18:18; Rev 3:7).