Eliakim

Biblical Record

Eliakim was the son of Hilkiah and served as steward of the royal household under King Hezekiah. This high office oversaw the management and administration of the royal palace; in Hebrew it is designated by a phrase meaning "the one who is over the house" (KJV: "which was over the household").

When Sennacherib, king of Assyria, invaded Judah, Eliakim went outside the walls of Jerusalem to meet the Assyrian envoy Rabshakeh. "Rabshakeh" is generally understood to be the title of a high-ranking official rather than a personal name. Shebna the scribe and Joah the recorder accompanied him (2 Kings 18:18). Eliakim and his companions asked the envoy to speak in Aramaic (KJV: "the Syrian language"), the diplomatic language of the day, so that the people on the wall would not understand. Rabshakeh refused, however, and instead cried out loudly in the language of Judah, demanding surrender (2 Kings 18:26–35).

The delegation returned with their clothes torn and reported to the king (2 Kings 18:37). Hezekiah then sent Eliakim, Shebna, and the elders of the priests, clothed in sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah (2 Kings 19:2). The same account appears in Isaiah 36–37.

Isaiah 22:15–25 records a prophecy in which God declares that He will remove Shebna, who was over the household, and install "my servant Eliakim" in his place. According to this prophecy, Eliakim would receive the robe, the girdle, and the government, and would "be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem." Moreover, "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" (Isaiah 22:22).

Significance Within Scripture

In Isaiah 22, Shebna appears as the one over the household. In chapter 36, however, Eliakim holds that office and Shebna is the scribe. Because of this difference, many interpreters regard the prophecy of chapter 22 as having been fulfilled.

In the New Testament, Revelation 3:7 presents Christ, addressing the church in Philadelphia, as "he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth." This expression is widely interpreted as drawing on Isaiah 22:22.

Interpretation and Points of Discussion

• Isaiah 22:25 states that "the nail that is fastened in the sure place" shall "be removed, and be cut down, and fall." Interpreters differ over whether this nail refers to Eliakim or to Shebna, who is mentioned earlier. Those who take it to refer to Eliakim read the passage as describing his relatives depending on him until he ultimately gives way.
• Protestant interpreters generally read Eliakim's key as a type, that is, a picture foreshadowing Christ's authority. Some interpretations within the Catholic Church connect this passage with the "keys of the kingdom of heaven" given to Peter in Matthew 16:19, using it as a basis for explaining apostolic authority. Protestants are generally cautious about drawing such a direct connection.
• Eliakim should be distinguished from others who bear the same name. The original name of King Jehoiakim (2 Kings 23:34), a priest in the time of Nehemiah (Nehemiah 12:41), and figures in the genealogies of Jesus (Matthew 1:13; Luke 3:30) share the name but are different people. His father Hilkiah is likewise regarded as distinct from Hilkiah the high priest in the time of Josiah.

In the Korean Church

In Korean Protestant churches, Eliakim is not a figure frequently featured in Sunday school lessons or in hymns and worship songs. In Korean preaching, however, expressions from Isaiah 22 such as "the key of the house of David" and "the nail fastened in a sure place" are sometimes used to address themes such as the faithful steward devoted to the task entrusted to him, or the workers whom God raises up.