Hebrews 7:1-3: Melchisedec, King of Salem
2022-12-17
Hebrews 7:1
Who is Melchisedec (or Melchizedek)? From this verse, he was a king of Salem and priest to the Most High God, who is the real God, the Creator God of the Bible. Abraham met the priest-king after the battle against the kings of the east.
This story occurs in Genesis 14. Let us consider Genesis 14:1-16. There was a suzerain treaty between Chedorlaomer king of Elam and these kings of Canaan. Sodom and the others were vassal states to the others, and they rebelled against their lords in the thirteenth year. The following year, they came out against the vassal states. The vassals were gathered in the vale of Siddim, and Chedorlaomer and company came out against them. Chedorlaomer and his allies were very powerful kings. They slaughtered entire civilizations of giants as they came. When the battle came to them, the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah died in battle. Here, the cities were spoiled, and Lot was captured.
When Abram was told of it, he gathered men totaling 318, and went out against the kings for Lot’s sake. Abram and company destroyed the kings and returned Lot, the other captives and all the spoil to the vassal city-states. This clearly was a miracle from God, one that is familiar throughout Scripture: A small band of men who follow the Lord defeat huge armies. Consider these four city-states from the east who slaughtered all these giants, but they could not stand up against 318 men! This is because the Lord defeated these nations through a small band. We know it is from the Lord because of this.
This was referred to as the “slaughter of the kings” in Hebrews 7:1. They were annihilated because Abram had the blessing of God on his life. Because God made him a promise, Abram could trust God for victory through this miraculous battle that took place.
In Genesis 14:17-24, we see the aftermath of the battle as Abram interacted with two kings, both of Salem and of Sodom. The king of Sodom here was whoever the heir was of the previous king who was killed in Genesis 14:10.
Melchisedec came to Abram with bread and wine. Now these would be staples of the ancient world, but one cannot help but think of the Lord’s Supper, where the bread and wine represent Jesus’ body and blood. Why didn’t the author just say “food”? The specific type of food is significant.
Melchisedec is both king and priest. This is also significant. Jesus Christ also is both king and priest; He fulfills both roles. We will see this unfold more as we continue our study.
Here is the blessing of Melchisedec: “And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth: And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.” (Genesis 14:19-20). First, Abram was blessed by God. Melchisedec blessed Abram in the name of God. The greatest blessing can come from no higher than God.
God, as the Creator, is “possessor of heaven and earth.” He owns everything because He made it all. All things are under His power. This Most High God, who owns all things, was the One who defeated all the kings. Because God blessed Abram in this way, Abram gave “tithes of all,” or a tenth of spoils from the eastern kings. The blessing came from God, and Abram gave a portion back. Abram recognized Melchisedec as being a priest of God, a representative of his God, and gave him those tithes.
The king of Sodom is the opposite of the king of Salem. He is the king of a wicked city. If it weren’t for Abram’s saving of Lot, the city would have been carried away by Chedorlaomer. This king of Sodom would have given Abram his own recovered goods. Abram rejected it because He wanted the blessing of the Lord, not of the evil king of Sodom. Because the Lord promised Abram to bless Him, Abram only accepted blessing from the Lord; He did not want anyone to say that someone other than the LORD blessed him. Since “the less is blessed of the better” (Hebrews 7:7), the king of Sodom wanted that supremacy that Melchisedec received. If Melchisedec blessed in the name of the Lord, in whose name would the king of Sodom bless?
Abram swore to God, using the same name (“possessor of heaven and earth”), but also used the personal name of God, Jehovah.
Hebrews 7:2
Melchisedec is made up of two Hebrew words. Melech means king. Tsedeq means righteousness. It is sad to say that pre-conquest Jerusalem must have had a history and tradition of righteousness, but at some point, abandoned it. Consider this passage during the time of Joshua: “Now it came to pass, when Adonizedek king of Jerusalem had heard how Joshua had taken Ai, and had utterly destroyed it; as he had done to Jericho and her king, so he had done to Ai and her king; and how the inhabitants of Gibeon had made peace with Israel, and were among them; That they feared greatly, because Gibeon was a great city, as one of the royal cities, and because it was greater than Ai, and all the men thereof were mighty” (Joshua 10:1-2). Notice how Adonizedek (“the Lord of righteousness”) king of Jerusalem, a distant successor of Melchizedek, also had the suffix “tsedeq” in his name. We know, however, if Adonizedek and his people truly were righteous, they would have been spared at the conquest.
Zedekiah the son of Josiah also reigned in Jerusalem, and we know he was not worthy of having tsedeq in his name either.
Melchisedec is also “King of peace.” The name of the city-state he ruled was called Salem, which is also Jerusalem (cf. Psalm 76:2; 1 Chronicles 11:4-5). “Salem” or shalom means peace.
This king, if we take his name and title at face value, is a king of both righteousness and peace. Jesus Christ is the intersection of righteousness and peace. God’s character requires justice regarding sin but also love leading to a pardon. Jesus Christ bore the righteous judgment of God for our sins so He could extend a loving pardon to us, giving us peace with God.
Hebrews 7:3
Other than what we discussed so far, we don’t know much else about Melchisedec. We do not know anything about his father or mother or if he had any descendants. Consider that most of the major personages in the Bible are called “X son of Y.” You know who their father is; one’s father’s name is equivalent to what we would call a last name. In this study, we have referenced Joshua son of Nun and Joshua son of Josedech. We can differentiate them in this way.
There are some examples of the mother’s name being used in lieu of the father’s name. Joab and Abishai, David’s military leaders, were the sons of Zeruiah, who was David’s sister. “David the seventh: Whose sisters were Zeruiah, and Abigail. And the sons of Zeruiah; Abishai, and Joab, and Asahel, three” (1 Chronicles 2:15-16).
Few people of significance are mentioned without any parent. Elijah the Tishbite would be one example.
This Melchizedek has no mention of any lineage. Also, there is no mention of his birth or death. We do not hear anything about this man after he blessed Abram. There is only one reference to him in the psalms, which we will discuss later.
He is “made like unto the Son of God.” Jesus is the Son of God. Though He be the Son of the Father, He has no beginning or ending. This is the parallel being drawn here. I don’t think this means that Melchisedec would have no parents and never died; otherwise, he would be God. It just means that his parents are not listed, and his legacy does not depend on them. As such, Melchisedec remains a priest indefinitely. The position is not passed from father to son as it was with Aaron. The Aaronic priesthood had an inauguration point, and it had a time it was discontinued. The Melchizedekian priesthood has no beginning or ending.
I think this is what we should get from this verse. From this verse, some have suggested that Melchisedec was the preincarnate Christ. However, if he were, I think Paul would have explicitly said so. He is drawing parallels, showing Jesus as a fulfillment of the ancient priest-king, not that they were the same person. I could be wrong! But I do not see it.