MELCHISEDEC KNOWLEDGE International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia

International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia Melchizedek; Melchisedec

Mel-kize-dek, and (the King James Version in the book of Hebrews) (malkitsedheq, " sedheq, or sidhiq is m! king" ("e #$%#& ff' (s ##)%$)' Mel*hisedek (Heb +%,,#)' ,%-)' .%#,#),##,#+,#.))% he name is e/0lained in Heb .%- as "king of righteo1sness," with "-i" as the old geniti2e ending' b1t the *orre*t e/0lanation is no do1bt the one gi2en abo2e' *om0are 3doni-zedek in Jos #)%#, where 4e0t1agint with J1d #%+-. has 3donibezek5 Mel*hizedek was king of 4alem (6 Jer1salem) and "a 0riest 1nto 78l 78l!on" ("e #$%#&)5 He bro1ght bread and wine to 3braham after the latters 2i*tor! o2er the kings, and also bestowed 10on him the blessing of 78l 78l!on5 3braham ga2e him "a tenth of all," i5e5 of the boot! 0robabl!, 1nless it be of all his 0ossessions5 "e #$%-- identifies 9ahweh with 78l 78l!on, the title of the :eit! as worshi00ed at Jer1salem' and so Heb .%# ff, following 4e0t1agint of "e #$%#& ff, *alls Mel*hizedek5 "0riest of "od Most High," i5e5 9ahweh5 4kinner ("en, -.#, where Jose0h1s, 3nt, ;V<, 2i, -, and 3m M ,%# are *ited) 0oints o1t that the Ma**abees were *alled "high 0riests of "od most high5" Hen*e, some hold that the stor! of Mel*hizedek is an in2ention of J1daism, b1t "1nkel ("enesis =, -&+ ff) maintains that he is a traditional, if not a histori*al, *hara*ter5 (s ##)%$ makes the klng-0riest who is addressed there a 2irt1al s1**essor of Mel*hizedek, and the kings of Jer1salem might well, as "1nkel s1ggests, ha2e been *onsidered s1**essors of Mel*hizedek in the same wa! that >harlemagne was regarded as the s1**essor of the >aesars, and the latter as s1**essors of the (haraohs in 8g!0t5 his leads nat1rall! to an earl! date being as*ribed to (s ##)5 he tho1ght of a 0riest after the order of Mel*hizedek is taken 10 b! the a1thor of Hebrews5 He wanted to 0ro2e the *laim of >hrist to be *alled 0riest5 <t was im0ossible, e2en had he so wished, to *onsider Jes1s as an 3aroni* 0riest, for He was des*ended from the tribe of J1dah and not from that of ?e2i (.%#$)5 he words of (s ##)%$ are taken to refer to Him (Heb +%+ f), and in Heb .%+ ff the order of Mel*hizedek is held to be higher than that of 3aron, for the s10eriorit! of Mel*hizedek was a*knowledged b! 3braham (a) when he 0aid tithes to Mel*hizedek and (b) when he was blessed b! Mel*hizedek, for "the less is blessed of the better5" <t might be added that Jes1s *an be *onsidered a 0riest after the order of Mel*hizedek in 2irt1e of His des*ent from :a2id, if the latter be regarded as s1**essor to Mel*hizedek @1t the a1thor of He does not e/0li*itl! sa! this5 A1rther, 3aron is onl! a "t!0e" bro1ght forward in He to show the more e/*ellent glor! of the work of Jes1s, whereas Mel*hizedek is "made like 1nto the

4on of "od" (.%=), and Jes1s is said to be "after the likeness of Mel*hizedek" (.%#+)5 Heb .%# ff 0resents diffi*1lties5 Bhere did the a1thor get the material for this des*ri0tion of Mel*hizedekC (#) Mel*hizedek is said to be "witho1t father, witho1t mother, (i5e5) witho1t genealog!"' and (-) he is des*ribed as "ha2ing neither beginning of da!s nor end of life"' he "abideth a 0riest *ontin1all!5" he answer is 0erha0s to be had among the ell el-3marna ?etters, among whi*h are at least ,, 0robabl! &, letters from a king of Dr1salim to 3meno0his <V, king of 8g!0t, whose "sla2e" the former *alls himself5 Dr1salim is to be identified with Jer1salem, and the letters belong to *ir*a #$)) @>5 he name of this king is gi2en as 3bd-Khiba (or 3bd-*hiba), tho1gh Hommel, q1oted b! "535 4mith, Jer1salem, <<, #$, note ., reads >hiba5 Eimmer, in E3, #&F#, -$,, sa!s that it *an be read 3bditaba, and so 4a!*e (H:@, <<<, ==+b) *alls him 7ebhedh tobh5 he king tells his 8g!0tian o2erlord, "Geither m! father nor m! mother set me in this 0la*e% the might! arm of the king (or, a**ording to 4a!*e, "the arm of the might! king") established me in m! fathers ho1se" (?etter #)- in @erlin *olle*tion, ll5 F-#=' also n1mber #)=, ll5 -+--&' n1mber #)$, ll5 #=-#+' see, f1rther, H5 Bin*kler, :ie hontafeln 2on ell-el-3marna' Kn1dtzon, @eitrage z1r 3ss!riologie, <V, #)# ff, -.F ff, *ited b! "535 4mith, Jer1salem, <<, &, note #)5 <t th1s be*omes *lear that 0ossibl! tradition identified Mel*hizedek with 3bdKhiba5 3t an! rate the idea that Mel*hizedek was "witho1t father, witho1t mother, (i5e5) witho1t genealog!" *an easil! be e/0lained if the words of 3bdKhiba *on*erning himself *an ha2e been also attrib1ted to Mel*hizedek5 he words meant originall! that he a*knowledged that he did not *ome to the throne be*a1se he had a *laim on it thro1gh des*ent' he owed it to a00ointment5 @1t Jewish inter0retation e/0lained them as im0l!ing that he had no father or mother5 (s ##)%$ had s0oken of the king there as being "a 0riest for e2er after the order of Mel*hizedek," and this seems to ha2e been taken to in2ol2e the 0er0et1it! of Mel*hizedek also as 0riest5 Mel*hizedek was then tho1ght of as "ha2ing neither beginning of da!s" 6" witho1t father, witho1t mother, witho1t genealog!," and again as not ha2ing "end of life" 6" abideth a 0riest *ontin1all!5" Hen*e, he is "made like 1nto the son of "od," ha2ing neither beginning of da!s nor end of life5 Be get another Gew estament e/am0le of Jewish inter0retation in "a $%-# ff5 Be ha2e no a*t1al 0roof that Mel*hizedek is identi*al with 3bd-Khiba' 0ossibl! the referen*e to the former as being "witho1t father," et*5, is not to be e/0lained as abo2e5 @1t wh! sho1ld Mel*hizedek, and he alone, of all the Hld estament *hara*ters be tho1ght of in this wa!C

Best*ott, Hebrews, #FF, has a s1ggesti2e tho1ght abo1t Mel*hizedek% " he lessons of his a00earan*e lie in the a00earan*e itself5 3braham marks a new de0art1re5 5555 @1t before the fresh order is established we ha2e a 2ision of the old in its s10erior maIest!' and this, on the e2e of disa00earan*e, gi2es its blessing to the new5" Hn the referen*es to Mel*hizedek in (hilo see Best*ott, o05 *it5, -)#' A5 Jendall, Hebrews, 3005, +& ff' and es0e*iall! (with the 0assages and other a1thorities *ited there) "5 Milligan, heolog! of 80istle to the Hebrews, -)= ff5 he *on*l1sions we *ome to are% (#) here was a tradition in Jer1salem of Mel*hizedek, a king in 0re-<sraelitish times, who was also 0riest to 78l 78l!on5 his is the origin of "e #$%#& ff, where 78l 78l!on is identified with 9ahweh5 (-) (s ##) makes 1se of this tradition and the (salmists king is regarded as Mel*hizedeks s1**essor5 (=) he 80istle to the Hebrews makes 1se of (a) (s ##), whi*h is taken to be a 0ro0he*! of >hrist, (b) of "e #$%#& ff, and (*) of oral tradition whi*h was not fo1nd in the Hld estament5 <t is this 1nwritten tradition that is 0ossibl! e/0lained b! the ell el-3marna ?etters5 4ee, f1rther, arti*les b! 4a!*e, :ri2er, and Hommel in 8/0ositor! imes, V<<, V<<<5 Britten b! :a2id Aran*is Joberts