Question concerning Hebrews 7:1-3?

Question

Here are the verses:

1 This Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of God Most High. He met Abraham returning from the defeat of the kings and blessed him, 2 and Abraham gave him a tenth of everything. First, his name means "king of righteousness"; then also, "king of Salem" means "king of peace." 3 Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, like the Son of God he remains a priest forever.

Obviously, this points to Jesus Christ who is our eternal high priest. But my question is really about Melchizedek......these verses make him sound like some sort of supernatural, eternal creation.....without beginning or end.

Should this be taken as a metaphor in this context?
Or should this just refer to Melchizedek as a type of Christ?

Answer 1

Melchizedek is more than a "type" of Christ, it is a preincarnate Jesus. The translation of his name is "King of Righteousness" which parallels well with the Messianic prophecy found in Jeremiah 23:5...

“Behold, the days are coming,” says the LORD, “ That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; A King shall reign and prosper, And execute judgment and righteousness in the earth."

Melchizedek is the original king of Salem (the root of the Hebrew Shalom) which is the ancient name of Jerusalem. So Jesus is the original King of Jerusalem.

You will also notice that the only time the combination of "bread and wine" is used in Genesis (and the first usage in the Bible) is what Abraham served Melchizedek in Genesis 14:18. This points to the broken body and blood of Messiah when He comes for our redemption.

Hebrews 7 makes the point that Melchizedek had no beginning, nor end. Which coincides perfectly with Jesus' proclamation in Revelation of His eternal nature of being "the Alpha and Omega". A title only reserved for God in Isaiah 44:6 and Isaiah 41:4. If Christ were under the priestly order of Aaron, then it would only be a temporary priesthood, because Aaron died. However, Melchizedek represented an eternal order. This is why Abraham paid Him tithes of all he possessed. This is the point the writer of Hebrews is making regarding this interesting King.

Answer 2

v.1 In Genesis 14:18-20, we read that Melchizedek was a priest of God long before God had established the priesthood through Aaron or Levi. Melchizedek gave bread and wine to Abraham as a forerunner of the sacrament of communion.

v.2 Melchizedek means "King of Righteousness". King of Salem means "King of Peace".

v.3 "Without descent" refers to the fact that no genealogy was given for Melchizedek, and the Jews were very careful to keep their records of genealogies, especially where the priesthood was concerned. Since Melchizedek's appearance in the Bible is so mysterious (having neither beginning of days nor end of life), some people think He may have been Jesus Christ. The titles, King of Righteousness and King of Peace certainly would apply to Jesus. Also, in the prophetic Psalm 110, which speaks of Jesus, verse 4 states, "Thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek".

v.4 The Jews traced their faith back to Abraham as the founding father.

v.5 The priests received a tithe from the people rather than an inheritance of land.

v.6 Melchizedek received a tithe from Abraham, and also from Levi in the sense that Levi descended from Abraham. The author is seeking to establish the superiority of Melchizedek over the Levitical priesthood because he knew the issue of Christ as our high priest was a sensitive one. He could see that the weak and immature Hebrew Christians might easily slip back into the security of the traditions of Judaism.

v.7 The one who gives the blessing is greater than the one who receives it.

Answer 3

In Psalm 110, a messianic psalm written by David (Matt. 22:43), Melchizedek is seen as a type of Christ. This theme is repeated in the Book of Hebrews, where both Melchizedek and Christ are considered kings of righteousness and peace. By citing Melchizedek and his unique priesthood as a type, the writer shows that Christ's new priesthood is superior to the old Levitical order and the priesthood of Aaron (Heb. 7:1-10; Melchisedec, KJV). Attempts have been made to identify Melchizedek as . . . an angel, the Holy Spirit, Christ, and others. All are the products of speculation, not historical fact; and it is impossible to reconcile them with the theological argument of Hebrews. Melchizedek was a real, historical king-priest who served as a type for the greater King-Priest who was to come, Jesus Christ.

Answer 4

First off there are 10 Biblical references to Melchizedek in the Bible...most in Gen. or Hebrews but there is also one in Psalms which it's talking about the Lord saying to my Lord. (Which is believed to be God talking to Jesus) about being a priest forever of the order of Melchizedek.
Melchizedek blesses Abraham which is a symbol of being of a superior "rank" than Abraham. As the Greater blesses the Lesser. Which got me thinking....If my Lord (Jesus) is of the order of Melchizedek (not like him or the same as him) it is most likely a metaphor. Would in that case it make Melchizedek....God?(the Lord). But in being a metaphor it still refers to Jesus being a priest like Melchizedek..and Jesus is our High Priest. So it is real both....metaphor and type of Christ.

Answer 5

The writer of Hebrews uses this story from Genesis 14:18-20 to show that Christ is even greater than Abraham, father of the Jewish nation, and Levi (Abraham's descendant). Therefore, the Jewish priesthood (made up of Levi's descendant's) was inferior to Melchizedek's priesthood.

Melchizedek was a priest of God Most High. He is said to remain a priest forever (Psalm 110:4), beecause his pristhood has no record of beginning or ending - he was a priest of God in Salem (Jerusalem) long before the nation of Israel and the regular priesthood began.

Does this help answer your question?

Answer 6

Yes, a type of Christ.
Jesus Christ was born into the bloodlines of both the Tribe of Judah (the kingline) and the Tribe of Levite (the priestline), making him King and High Priest, by the order of Melchizedek. Jesus Christ, before coming to us in the flesh born of Mary, was always with us, from the very beginning, as He is the Word of God the Father. With eyes that see, you will notice Christ showing up throughout the Old Testament,
even in Genesis when he was in the Garden (The Tree of Life).

Answer 7

It says in the new testament that Jesus is our high priest in the order of Melchizedek, neither saw death in the original or past sense, but were taken up as was Elijah and Moses.
This points to the fact that every so often God sent a real advocate to earth to get the job done!

Answer 8

Both. The genealogy of this king is not provided in the Genesis account, nor were any records known to the writer of Hebrews when he made the point; he therefore likened him to Christ, who literally has no beginning of days nor end of life (i.e. Jesus is still a man in heaven: 'We have have one ... Mediator between God and man; the Man Christ Jesus.').
The writer then goes on, in later verses, to show Christ's superiority over merely human priests, in that Christ saves all, and receives the tithes even of Levi, for his ancestor paid tithes before his next-in-line of descent was born (V 10).

Indeed, such is Christ's superiority, & such is the enigmatic reference to this king of Salem, that some have said it was a fleshly appearance of Christ in that passage. Personally I don't know, though I suspect he was a real king who merely served as an example of Christ as He would be.

Hope this helps, but must confess I'm very tired at the moment. God bless you, Primoa.

Answer 9

There is much conjecture about Melchizedek. Some insist he is an angel who took human form for a while during the time of Abraham. But the priesthood was a human, not angelic, function (Heb. 5:1). Others suggest that He is actually, not just typically, Jesus Christ Himself, who took a preincarnate form during Abraham’s time. But Melchizedek is described as made like the Son of God (7:3), not as being the Son of God. I believe that Melchizedek was a historical human being, whose priestly ministry typifies that of Christ, a man whom God designed to use as a picture of Jesus Christ. But we cannot be sure of the details of his identity. Those remain among the secret things that belong only to the Lord.

Answer 10

The writter of Hebrews lets us know that Melchizedek is a type or shadow of Jesus. He was a real live flesh and blood man who was a priest before the levitical priesthood, therefor he predates the linage of Aaron. No record of birth and death is just reference to Jesus as being eternal.