"a key, used in NT as the symbol of power, authority, etc. Mt. 16:19; Rev. 1:18; 3:7; 9:1; 20:1; met. the key of entrance into knowledge, Lk. 11:52*"
Definition and meaning
a key, used in NT as the symbol of power, authority, etc. Mt. 16:19; Rev. 1:18; 3:7; 9:1; 20:1; met. the key of entrance into knowledge, Lk. 11:52*
In the original Greek the word is written: κλείς
Historical context
Rome had controlled Judea since 63 BC. Herod the Great rebuilt the Temple into one of the most magnificent structures in the ancient world — and simultaneously murdered members of his own family. The common people paid multiple layers of taxation and were politically powerless. Into that world a carpenter from Galilee began teaching that the kingdom of God had arrived.
The people who first heard this word were not reading a book — they were living through empires, oppression, exile, and covenant. Every word carried the weight of that reality. Understanding it changes how you read Scripture.
Scripture references
These are the most notable occurrences of kleis (G2807) across the King James Bible.
And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge: ye entered not in yourselves, and them that were entering in ye hindered.
I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.
And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth;
And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.
And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
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Common questions
Strong's G2807 (kleis) is a Greek word that means: a key, used in NT as the symbol of power, authority, etc. Mt. 16:19; Rev. 1:18; 3:7; 9:1; 20:1; met. the key of entrance into knowledge, Lk. 11:52* It appears 6 times in the King James Bible.
The word kleis (G2807) appears 6 times in the original Greek text.
Strong's G2807 is kleis, a Greek word defined as: a key, used in NT as the symbol of power, authority, etc. Mt. 16:19; Rev. 1:18; 3:7; 9:1; 20:1; met. the key of entrance into knowledge, Lk. 11:52*. James Strong catalogued this in his 1890 concordance to help English readers study the original languages of the Bible.
kleis is a Greek word found in the New Testament.