Key
מַפְתֵּחַStrong’s H4668maphteach (maph-te-ach)
Appears in 3 verses of the Old Testament
In short
Maphteach is the Hebrew word usually translated “key” and “key of”. It appears in 3 verses of the Old Testament.
“And they tarried till they were ashamed: and, behold, he opened not the doors of the parlour; therefore they took a key, and opened them: and, behold, their lord was fallen down dead on the earth.”
Meaning
- Key, opening instrument
How it's translated
- the key 2
- key of 1
Word-by-word English from the STEPBible tagged text.
Where it's used most
- Judges 1
- 1 Chronicles 1
- Isaiah 1
3 books in all.
Related words
Explore in Scripture
- 1 Chronicles 9:27And they lodged round about the house of God, because the charge was upon them, and the opening thereof every morning pertained to them.
- Isaiah 22:22And 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.
Hebrew dictionary
מַפְתֵּחַ maphteach · key
key, opening instrument
From STEPBible’s Hebrew lexicon (based on Brown-Driver-Briggs).
Webster's 1828 Dictionary
How the English word “key” was understood when the King James Version was still the common Bible of English readers.
KEY, noun
ke. In a general sense, a fastener; that which fastens; as a piece of wood in the frame of a building, or in a chain, etc.
- An instrument for shutting or opening a lock, by pushing the bolt one way or the other.
- An instrument by which something is screwed or turned; as the key of a watch or other chronometer.
- The stone which binds an arch. [See Key-stone.]
- In an organ or harpsichord, the key or finger key is a little lever or piece in the fore part by which the instrument is played on by the fingers.
All definitions and other forms of “key”
- In music, the key or key note, is the fundamental note or tone, to which the whole piece is accommodated, and with which it usually begins and always ends.
- An index, or that which serves to explain a cypher.
- That which serves to explain any thing difficult to be understood.
- In the Romish church, ecclesiastical jurisdiction, or the power of the pope, or the power of excommunicating or absolving.
- A ledge or lay of ricks near the surface of the water.
- The husk containing the seed of an ash.
KEY, noun
A bank or wharf built on the side of a river or harbor, for the convenience of loading and unloading ships, and securing them in their stations. Hence keys are furnished with posts, rings, cranes, capstans, etc. It is sometimes written quay.
Noah Webster, An American Dictionary of the English Language (1828). Verse references are checked against the KJV. Read the full entry.
Verses are from the King James Version. Word meanings come from the original Hebrew, not from any one translation.