One day, we will examine Iron Age homes, such as the kind which became popular in ancient Israel around 1,000 BC, or the time of King David. They were four-room, simple village homes, but for now, we turn our attention to door locks and keys, since without glass, the coverings for window apertures were limited to lattice or shutters. Doors existed and so did locks during the era of the Hebrew Bible when Israelites transitioned from tent-life to settled village life.
Archaeologists working at Tel Haror near Gaza during the 1992 excavation season uncovered one of the most unique and rare finds having to do with ancient door locks. Brandl, Oren and Nahshoni write in the Italian journal, Origini (2014), that not only were locks and keys in use during the Bronze Age, they describe in detail a clay seal stamped with a Canaanite scarab… which further sealed the locked door!
That makes: 1) a locked door, 2) with a key inserted into the lock, 3) attached by a string extending outside of the lock, 3) sealed with a glob of clay, 4) and stamped with a Canaanite motif. As with many bullae, preserved following the destruction of a city by fire, this clay seal had been hardened by fire, showing evidence of charring on the exterior and the impression of the string on the interior. The archaeologists indicate that this elaborate scheme, utilized no doubt with a wooden tumbler lock, protected storage facilities and archives in a late Middle Bronze Age (MB III) sacred precinct. Dating from 1590-1530 BC, this predates Biblical narratives mentioning locks and keys.
Judges 3:25 tells of Eglon, king of Moab, being locked in his summer pavilion until his servants take a key, unlock the door, and find him murdered!
Lock. Check. Key. Check.
Perhaps even more prevalent in ancient times were straightforward door bolts which could be secured from the inside, with or without the addition of tumblers to make it even more secure. We read of a variation of this system in Song of Solomon 5:4 where an enamored pursuer places his hand into a depression or hole in the door where a key could be inserted from the outside. Alternate interpretations have him attempting to unlock the door by pushing the pins in by hand to unlatch it. A waxy substance such as myrrh could also fill in the depressions, preventing the pins from engaging/entering the chamber, which may be what verse 5 refers to.
By the time of the Prophet Isaiah (8th century or 740 BC), the Bible describes “the key of the house of David” being placed on the shoulder. Talk about super-sizing it! Some keys were indeed big enough to be carried on the shoulder, with examples measuring approximately a foot or so in length.
The next time you think about being given spiritual keys, that whatever is bound in heaven, you can bind or lock on earth, and whatever is loosed in heaven, you can loose or unlock on earth—consider the ancient key. You have the power to lock, seal and bolt the door against the attacks of the enemy. Talk about secure! You also possess the authority to unlock and freely access the good things of God. He has given you the keys (Matthew 16:19)!
You. Yes, you.
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