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.

  1. a royal one from the tribe of Judah
  2. 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.

  1. Melchizedek ‒ Genesis 14
  2. Abimlelch ‒ Genesis 20
  3. Hagar ‒ Genesis 21
  4. Jethro ‒ Exodus 18
  5. Balaam ‒ Numbers 22-24
  6. Ruth ‒ Ruth
  7. Queen of Sheba ‒ 1 Kings 10
  8. Job ‒ Job
  9. 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.

  1. his genealogy is not given
  2. Abram offers a tithe to him (Heb. 7:20, a sign of an acknowledgment to a superior)
  3. he is leader of the city later to become Jerusalem (see SPECIAL TOPIC: SALEM)
  4. 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.

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