SPECIAL TOPIC: MELCHIZEDEK

SPECIAL TOPIC: MELCHIZEDEK (from Gen. 14:18)

The name means "king of righteousness" or "my king is righteous" (BDB 575, KB 593, similar to Josh. 10:1; "Zedek" may relate to a Canaanite astral god, Zedek, i.e.,"My King is Zedek"). The name (Melchizedek) appears only in Gen. 14:18 and in Ps. 110:4 in the OT (see Josephus, Antiq. 1.10.2). The dual office of the Messiah as King and Priest in Psalm 110 (also from Zechariah 3-4) caused the Dead Sea Scrolls community to expect two Messiahs.

a royal one from the tribe of Judah
a priestly one from the tribe of Levi

Melchizedek was the priest/king of the Canaanite city of Salem (see SPECIAL TOPIC: MORIAH, SALEM, JEBUS, JERUSALEM, ZION). It was very unusual for a civic ruler to also be a priest. This was viewed as a foreshadowing of the role of the Israelite Messiah (i.e., Anointed One).

This Canaanite knew Israel's Deity before Abraham came. Salem was YHWH's special place (i.e., later the site of YHWH's temple). Both Abraham and Melchizedek use the divine title El Elyon (BDB 42 and BDB 751; see SPECIAL TOPIC: NAMES FOR DEITY, A., B.).

Melchizedek is one of several non-Israelites who had some knowledge of YHWH.

Melchizedek ‒ Genesis 14
Abimlelch ‒ Genesis 20
Hagar ‒ Genesis 21
Jethro ‒ Exodus 18
Balaam ‒ Numbers 22-24
Ruth ‒ Ruth
Queen of Sheba ‒ 1 Kings 10
Job ‒ Job
people of Nineveh ‒ Jonah 3

The NT book of Hebrews (i.e., chapter 7) uses this Canaanite priest/king as a type of a "superior" priesthood.

his genealogy is not given
Abram offers a tithe to him (Heb. 7:20, a sign of an acknowledgment to a superior)
he is leader of the city later to become Jerusalem (see SPECIAL TOPIC: SALEM)
he is a priest (unusual at this period, the father acted as priest for the family, cf. Gen. 31:54; Job 1) to God Most High (El Elyon, לא בוילע, cf. Gen. 14:19,20; identified with YHWH in 14:22)

By means of rabbinical hermeneutics the author of Hebrews uses him as a type/symbol of a better priesthood than Aaron/Levi (see SPECIAL TOPIC: RABBINICAL HERMENTUTICS.

There has been much discussion about his identity.

for Philo, he is a figure of the human soul
for Origen, he is an angel
for Ambrose, he is the angel of the Lord
for others, he is the national angel of Israel, Michael
for Epiphanius, he is the incarnation of Holy Spirit
for the Melchizedekites, he is greater than the Messiah and all prayer goes through him
for some Jews, Jerome and Luther, he is Shem, Noah's son

Melchizedek is used as a type of Jesus' priesthood for several reasons:

his name ‒ King of Righteousnes
he blessed Abraham (i.e., a greater blesses a lesser)
Abraham offered a tithe to him (inferiors always tithe to superiors) and by rabbinical hermeneutics thereby Levi also offered a tithe (cf. Heb. 7:4-9)
his parents are not listed, so rabbinical theology said he was without parents and thereby eternal (cf. Heb. 7:3; Ps. 110:4b)
he was king in the later holy city, Jerusalem (Salem, cf. Gen. 14:18)
he was a priest of God Most High (i.e., El Elyon, cf. Gen. 14:18)
he allows the author to establish a legitimate priesthood apart from the Levitical Priesthood