Isaiah 22:22 - Exposition

The key of the house of David will I lay upon his shoulder . A key would seem to have been the special badge of the prefect's office, which included the control of the stores ( Isaiah 22:15 ), and the general management of the household. It was, perhaps, a part of the form of investiture, that the key should be first laid on the prefect's shoulder and then delivered into his hand. Among the Greeks the priests of Ceres are said to have borne a key on their shoulder, permanently, as a badge of office (Callimach; 'Hymn. ad Cererem,' 1. 45). The reference to this passage in Revelation 3:7 is sufficient to show that Eliakim, the "servant of Jehovah" ( Revelation 3:20 ), is, to a certain extent, a type of Christ; perhaps also of his faithful ministers ( Matthew 16:19 ; John 20:23 ).