Melchizedek, a Type of Christ. 1 This “Melchizedek, king
of Salem and priest of God Most High,” “met Abraham as he returned from his
defeat of the kings” and “blessed him.” 2 And Abraham apportioned to him “a
tenth of everything.” His name first means righteous king, and he was also
“king of Salem,” that is, king of peace. 3 Without father, mother, or ancestry,
without beginning of days or end of life, thus made to resemble the Son of
God, he remains a priest forever.
4 See how great he is to whom the patriarch “Abraham
[indeed] gave a tenth” of his spoils. 5 The descendants of Levi who receive the
office of priesthood have a commandment according to the law to exact tithes
from the people, that is, from their brothers, although they also have come
from the loins of Abraham. 6 But he who was not of their ancestry received
tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had received the promises. 7
Unquestionably, a lesser person is blessed by a greater. 8 In the one case, mortal
men receive tithes; in the other, a man of whom it is testified that he lives
on. 9 One might even say that Levi himself, who receives tithes, was tithed
through Abraham, 10 for he was still in his father’s loins when Melchizedek met
him.
11 If, then, perfection came through the levitical
priesthood, on the basis of which the people received the law, what need would
there still have been for another priest to arise according to the order of
Melchizedek, and not reckoned according to the order of Aaron? 12 When there is
a change of priesthood, there is necessarily a change of law as well. 13 Now he
of whom these things are said belonged to a different tribe, of which no
member ever officiated at the altar. 14 It is clear that our Lord arose from
Judah, and in regard to that tribe Moses said nothing about priests. 15 It is even more obvious if another priest is raised up after the likeness of
Melchizedek, 16 who has become so, not by a law expressed in a commandment
concerning physical descent but by the power of a life that cannot be destroyed. 17 For it is testified:
“You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.”
18 On the one hand, a former commandment is annulled because
of its weakness and uselessness, 19 for the law brought nothing to perfection;
on the other hand, a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near
to God. 20 And to the degree that this happened not without the taking of an
oath—for others became priests without an oath, 21 but he with an oath, through
the one who said to him:
“The Lord has sworn, and he will not repent: ‘You are a priest forever’”
22 to that same degree has Jesus [also] become the guarantee
of an [even] better covenant. 23 Those priests were many because they were
prevented by death from remaining in office, 24 but he, because he remains
forever, has a priesthood that does not pass away. 25 Therefore, he is
always able to save those who approach God through him, since he lives forever
to make intercession for them.
26 It was fitting that we should have such a high priest: holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners, higher than the heavens.27 He has no need, as did the high priests, to offer sacrifice day after
day, first for his own sins and then for those of the people; he did that
once for all when he offered himself. 28 For the law appoints men subject to weakness
to be high priests, but the word of the oath, which was taken after the law,
appoints a son, who has been made perfect forever.
7:1–3 Recalling the meeting between Melchizedek and Abraham
described in Gn 14:17–20, the author enhances the significance of this priest
by providing the popular etymological meaning of his name and that of the city
over which he ruled (Hb 7:2). Since Genesis gives no information on the
parentage or the death of Melchizedek, he is seen here as a type of Christ, representing
a priesthood that is unique and eternal (Hb 7:3).
7:1 The author here assumes that Melchizedek was a priest of
the God of Israel (cf. Gn 14:22 and the note there).
7:2 In Gn 14, the Hebrew text does not state explicitly who
gave tithes to whom. The author of Hebrews supplies Abraham as the subject,
according to a contemporary interpretation of the passage. This supports the
argument of the midrash and makes it possible to see in Melchizedek a type of
Jesus. The messianic blessings of righteousness and peace are foreshadowed in
the names “Melchizedek” and “Salem.”
7:3 Without father, mother, or ancestry, without beginning
of days or end of life: this is perhaps a quotation from a hymn about
Melchizedek. The rabbis maintained that anything not mentioned in the Torah
does not exist. Consequently, since the Old Testament nowhere mentions
Melchizedek’s ancestry, birth, or death, the conclusion can be drawn that he
remains…forever. [The Rabbis like the Protestants are Sola Scriptura believers]
7:4–10 The tithe that Abraham gave to Melchizedek (Hb 7:4),
a practice later followed by the levitical priesthood (Hb 7:5), was a gift (Hb
7:6) acknowledging a certain superiority in Melchizedek, the foreign priest (Hb
7:7). This is further indicated by the fact that the institution of the
levitical priesthood was sustained by hereditary succession in the tribe of
Levi, whereas the absence of any mention of Melchizedek’s death in Genesis
implies that his personal priesthood is permanent (Hb 7:8). The levitical
priesthood itself, through Abraham, its ancestor, paid tithes to Melchizedek,
thus acknowledging the superiority of his priesthood over its own (Hb 7:9–10).
7:7 A lesser person is blessed by a greater: though this
sounds like a principle, there are some examples in the Old Testament that do
not support it (cf. 2 Sm 14:22; Jb 31:20). The author may intend it as a
statement of a liturgical rule.
7:9 Levi: for the author this name designates not only the
son of Jacob mentioned in Genesis but the priestly tribe that was thought to be
descended from him.
7:11–14 The Levitical priesthood was not typified by the
priesthood of Melchizedek, for Ps 110:4 speaks of a priesthood of a new order,
the order of Melchizedek, to arise in messianic times (Hb 7:11). Since the
levitical priesthood served the Mosaic law, a new priesthood (Hb 7:12) would
not come into being without a change in the law itself. Thus Jesus was not
associated with the Old Testament priesthood, for he was a descendant of the
tribe of Judah, which had never exercised the priesthood (Hb 7:13–14). [The order of Melchizedek is a messianic priesthood that no longer offers Sacrifices of lambs and sheep but on a bloodless sacrifice of Bread and Wine that becomes the body and blood of Jesus Christ through the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist]
7:13 He of whom these things are said: Jesus, the priest
“according to the order of Melchizedek.” According to the author’s
interpretation, Ps 110 spoke prophetically of Jesus.
7:14 Judah: the author accepts the early Christian tradition
that Jesus was descended from the family of David (cf. Mt 1:1–2, 16, 20; Lk
1:27; 2:4; Rom 1:3). The Qumran community expected two Messiahs, one descended
from Aaron and one from David; Hebrews shows no awareness of this view or at
least does not accept it. Our author’s view is not attested in contemporaneous
Judaism. [Qumran was mistaken thinking there will be two Messiahs because of two distinct characteristics given to the coming Messiah at that time according to prophecies but Jesus indeed through the Virgin Mary can trace his root from both King David the Royal blood and from Levi the Priestly blood so we have Jesus in one person both King and Priest and both God and Man]
7:15–19 Jesus does not exercise a priesthood through family
lineage but through his immortal existence (Hb 7:15–16), fulfilling Ps 110:4
(Hb 7:17; cf. Hb 7:3). Thus he abolishes forever both the levitical priesthood
and the law it serves, because neither could effectively sanctify people (Hb
7:18) by leading them into direct communication with God (Hb 7:19). [By changing the priesthood to the Melchizedek order, Jesus indeed abolished the priesthood from the Levitical order]
7:16 A life that cannot be destroyed: the life to which
Jesus has attained by virtue of his resurrection; it is his exaltation rather
than his divine nature that makes him priest. The Old Testament speaks of the
Aaronic priesthood as eternal (see Ex 40:15); our author does not explicitly
consider this possible objection to his argument but implicitly refutes it in
Hb 7:23–24.
7:19 A better hope: this hope depends upon the sacrifice of
the Son of God; through it we “approach the throne of grace” (Hb 4:16); cf. Hb
6:19, 20.
7:20–25 As was the case with the promise to Abraham (Hb
6:13), though not with the levitical priesthood, the eternal priesthood of the
order of Melchizedek was confirmed by God’s oath (Hb 7:20–21); cf. Ps 110:4.
Thus Jesus becomes the guarantee of a permanent covenant (Hb 7:22) that does
not require a succession of priests as did the levitical priesthood (Hb 7:23) because
his high priesthood is eternal and unchangeable (Hb 7:24). Consequently, Jesus
is able to save all who draw near to God through him since he is their
ever-living intercessor (Hb 7:25).
7:20 An oath: God’s oath in Ps 110:4.
7:22 An [even] better covenant: better than the Mosaic
covenant because it will be eternal, like the priesthood of Jesus upon which it
is based. Hb 7:12 argued that a change of priesthood involves a change of law;
since “law” and “covenant” are used correlatively, a new covenant is likewise
instituted.
7:25 To make intercession: the intercession of the exalted
Jesus, not the sequel to his completed sacrifice but its eternal presence in
heaven; cf. Rom 8:34.
7:26 This verse with its list of attributes is reminiscent
of Hb 7:3 and is perhaps a hymnic counterpart to it, contrasting the exalted
Jesus with Melchizedek.
7:26–28 Jesus is precisely the high priest whom the human
race requires, holy and sinless, installed far above humanity (Hb 7:26); one
having no need to offer sacrifice daily for sins but making a single offering
of himself (Hb 7:27) once for all. The law could only appoint high priests with
human limitations, but the fulfillment of God’s oath regarding the priesthood
of Melchizedek (Ps 110:4) makes the Son of God the perfect priest forever (Hb
7:28). [In proper context this should be seen in the eyes of the Jewish believers who were used to daily sacrifice of blood of the lamb and sheep but with the priesthood of Jesus it becomes a sacrifice of thanksgiving, the Eucharist of bread and wine just as what Melchizedek offered]
7:27 Such daily sacrifice is nowhere mentioned in the Mosaic
law; only on the Day of Atonement is it prescribed that the high priest must
offer sacrifice…for his own sins and then for those of the people (Lv
16:11–19). Once for all: this translates the Greek words ephapax/hapax that
occur eleven times in Hebrews.
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