κλείς
kleis
key
Lexicon Entry
Lexicon data from STEPBible TIPNR, Tyndale House, Cambridge. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
What Original Readers Understood
ExploredThe Greek word κλείς (kleis) is defined as a "key." This term appears six times in the Bible, indicating its importance in various contexts. The key is an object used to unlock or open doors, chests, or other secured containers. The range of usage for κλείς is quite limited, but it is significant in conveying the idea of access, control, and secrecy. In the biblical context, keys are often associated with authority, as they grant permission to enter or access something previously restricted. This concept is likely to be understood by readers familiar with the use of keys in everyday life. The significance of κλείς lies in its symbolic value, representing the power to unlock or gain access to something previously inaccessible. This idea is likely to be interpreted by readers in various ways, depending on the context in which it appears.
Source data & methodology
Occurrences in Scripture
6 total occurrences across the text
I will give to you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will have been bound in heaven; and whatever you release on earth will have been released in heaven.”
Luke 11:52Woe to you lawyers! For you took away the key of knowledge. You didn’t enter in yourselves, and those who were entering in, you hindered.”
Revelation 1:18and the Living one. I was dead, and behold, I am alive forever and ever. Amen. I have the keys of Death and of Hades.
Revelation 3:7“To the angel of the assembly in Philadelphia write: “He who is holy, he who is true, he who has the key of David, he who opens and no one can shut, and who shuts and no one opens, says these things:
Revelation 9:1The fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star from the sky which had fallen to the earth. The key to the pit of the abyss was given to him.
Revelation 20:1I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand.