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In theHebrew Bible,Melchizedek[a] was the king ofSalem and priest ofEl Elyon (often translated as 'most high God'). He is first mentioned in Genesis 14:18–20,[3] where he brings out bread and wine and then blessesAbram, and El Elyon or "the Lord, God Most High". Abram was returning from pursuing the kings who came from the East and gave him a "tenth of everything".
InChristianity, according to theEpistle to the Hebrews,Jesus Christ is identified as "High priest forever in the order of Melchizedek", and so Jesus assumes the role ofHigh Priest once and for all.Chazalic literature – specificallyTargum Jonathan,Targum Yerushalmi, and theBabylonian Talmud – presents his name (מלכי־צדק) as anickname forShem.[4]
Joseph Blenkinsopp has suggested that the story of Melchizedek is an informal insertion into the Genesis narration, possibly inserted in order to give validity to the priesthood and titles connected with theSecond Temple. It has also been conjectured that the suffix "-zedek" may have been or become a reference to aCanaanite deity worshipped inpre-Israelite Jerusalem.[5]: 56–60
In the majority ofMasoreticHebrew texts the name is written as two words,Malki-ṣedeqמלכי־צדק, rendered in one word in both theSeptuagint (Μελχισεδέκ) andVulgate (Melchisedech). TheAuthorised King James Version of 1611 renders the name "Melchizedek" when translating from the Hebrew, and "Melchisedec" in the New Testament.
The name is composed from the two elements:melek(h), 'king', andṣedeq, which means either 'righteousness'[6] or the proper nameZedek.[7][8] With the addition of thehiriq compaginis (-ī) indicating the archaic construct form,malk-ī means 'king of', so that the name literally translates to 'king of righteousness'[9] or 'my king is Zedek',[7] indicating that he worshippedZedek, aCanaanite deity worshipped in pre-Israelite Jerusalem.[5]: 58 The latter, however, is often dismissed since Hebrews 7:2 gives the translation of the name Melchizedek as "king of righteousness", although Robert R. Cargill has recently argued in favour of that etymology.[2] Mainstream scholarly understanding of these names ("My King is Righteousness" and "My Lord is Righteousness" respectively) is that they refer to the concept of righteousness and not to a god.[10]
The name is formed in parallel withAdoni-ṣedeqאדני־צדק, also a king of Salem, mentioned in Joshua 10:1–3,[11] where the elementmalik ('king') is replaced byadon ('lord').[b] Paralleltheophoric names, with Sedeq replaced byYahu, are those ofMalchijah andAdonijah, both biblical characters placed in the time ofDavid.[12]
The narrative of Genesis 14 is part of the larger story telling howAbram returns from defeating kingChedorlaomer and meets withBera the king ofSodom,[13] at which point:
And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine: and he was [is] the priest of the most high God. And he blessed him, and said, 'Blessed be Abram to 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 tithe from all.
Some textual critics classify the narration as not being derived from any of the usualpentateuchal sources.[15] It has been speculated that verses 18–20 (in which Melchizedek appears) are an informal insertion into the narration, as they interrupt the account of the meeting of Abraham with the king of Sodom.[16][5]: 56 There is no consensus on when or why the story might have been added. It may have been inserted in order to give validity to the priesthood and tithes connected with theSecond Temple.[5]: 59–60 It also may have been inserted to give validity to the superiority of theZadokite priests over theLevite priests.[17]
Lebanese Protestant scholarKamal Salibi (1929–2011) observes thatHebrew:ֹמַעֲשֵׂר,m'sr, which literally does mean 'tenth', might more loosely be used to mean 'portion', andHebrew:מִכֹּל,m-kl, or 'from all', might refer just to food in the giver's possession, so that the whole verse might mean "He gave him a portion of food".[18]
Genesis 14:18[19] introduces Melchizedek, a "Priest of the Most High God" (El Elyon), a term which is re-used in Genesis 14:19–20[20] and Genesis 14:22.[21] The term "Most High" is used another twenty times to refer to the God of Israel in the Psalms.Giorgio Levi Della Vida (1944) suspects that this is a late development,[22] andJoseph Fitzmyer (1962) connects Genesis 14 with the mention of a god called "Most High," who may appear according to one of three possible translations of a 750 BC inscription found atAl-Safirah in Syria.[23] Remi Lack (1962) considers that the Genesis verses were taken over by Jewish redactor(s), for whom El was already identified with YHWH,El-Elyon became an epithet for the God of Israel.[24]
Due to an ambiguity in the Hebrew text, it is unclear who gave tithe to whom: Abram to Melchizedek, or Melchizedek to Abram: the verse in question states simply, "And [he] gave him tithe from all" (v-yiten-lo ma'aser mekol,ויתן לו מעשר מכל). Most translations of this verse preserve the ambiguity, "he gave to him", but some modern translations make explicit the mainstream interpretation of Abram being the giver and Melchizedek the recipient.[25][26]
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan, theBook of Jubilees,Josephus,Philo of Alexandria, andRashi all read Abram as the giver of the tithe to Melchizedek.[27][28] TheRogatchover Gaon, also understanding Abram to be the tithe giver, comments that the presented tithe was not a standard tithe (Maaser Rishon) as described in theTorah (given on an annual basis), but was a one-time "tribute offering" (trumat ha-mekhes,תרומת המכס), such as Moses gave to God in Numbers 31:41.[29][30]
Expressing akabbalistic point of view, theZohar commentary to Genesis 14 cites Rabbi Yitzchak as saying that it was God who gave a tithe to Abram in the form of removing the Hebrew letterHe from his own throne of glory and presenting it to the soul of Abram for his benefit.[31]
RabbiMeir Simcha of Dvinsk (1843–1926) interprets the phrase "And he gave him tithe from all" as a verbal continuation of Melchizedek's speech, i.e., Melchizedek exclaimed that God had chosen to gift Abram a tenth of God's possession of the entire human race (consisting of seventy nations as described inGenesis) in the form of the seven nations of theland of Canaan, including the cities of Sodom that Abram succeeded in saving. Rabbi Meir Simcha argues that continued speech of this sort was a common form of prophetic expression.[c]
The second and final Hebrew Bible mention of Melchizedek is inPsalm 110:4.[32] The many translations that follow the Septuagint[33] translate it as:
The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent: 'Thou art a priest for everafter the manner of Melchizedek.'
— (JPS 1917)
Although the above is the traditional translation of the text, the Hebrew text can be interpreted in various ways, and theNew Jewish Publication Society of America Tanakh, (1985 edition), for example, has:
You are a priest forever, a rightful king by My decree.
— JPS 1985)
Another alternative keeps Melchizedek as a personal name but changes the identity of the person addressed: "You are a priest forever by my order (or 'on my account'), O Melchizedek" – here it is Melchizedek who is being addressed throughout the psalm.[34]
The majority ofChazalic literature attributes the primary character of the psalm asKing David[d] who was a "righteous king" (מלכי צדק) of Salem and, like Melchizedek, had certain priest-like responsibilities, while theBabylonian Talmud understands the chapter as referring to Abram who was victorious in battling to save his nephew Lot and merited priesthood.[36] The Zohar defines the noted Melchizedek as referring toAhron theKohen Gadol (high priest).[37]
TheSamaritan Pentateuch readsשלמו (lit. 'his peace' or in contextual flow 'allied with him') in place of the Masoreticשלם (Salem), with addition of a letterו (vav).
William F. Albright views the Samaritan wording as authentic[e] as does theNew American Bible.[39]
Regarding the residence of Melchizedek, Samaritan tradition identified a "Salem" as a place on the slopes ofMount Gerizim which served as a blessing place of the children of Israel upon their initial crossing of the Jordan river.[citation needed] TheSamaritans allocate Gerizim (and not Jerusalem) as the site intended for the Temple, and thus the "שלמו" text serves an obvious sectarian purpose. However, this practice is not solely associated with the Samaritans: the possessive suffix is also found in the 3rd- or 2nd-century BCBook of Jubilees, and Greek possessive suffixes are even used in theSeptuagint version of Genesis.[40]
With respect to Genesis 14:20,Hebrews chapter 7verses 2 and4 in theNew Testament state that the patriarch Abraham gave a tenth of the spoil to Melchizedek.
Psalm 110:4 is cited in the New Testament letter to the Hebrews as an indicator that Jesus, regarded in the letter as the Messiah, had a right to a priesthood pre-dating the Jewish Aaronic priesthood (Hebrews 5:5–6).[41]
TheMishnah recounts thatHasmonean rulers used to identify themselves as "High Priest ofEl Elyon": "When the Hasmonean kingdom became strong and defeated the Greeks, they instituted that people should mention the name of Heaven even in their legal documents. And therefore they would write: In year such and such ofYoḥanan the High Priest of the God Most High."[42] Scholars have observed that the Hasmoneans used Melchizedek's example of monarch-priest to justify occupying both offices.[43][44][45]
Josephus refers to Melchizedek as a "Canaanite chief" inThe Jewish War, but as a priest inAntiquities of the Jews.
Philo identifies Melchizedek with theLogos as priest of God,[46] and honoured as an untutored priesthood.[47]
TheSecond Book of Enoch (also called "Slavonic Enoch") is apparently a Jewish sectarian work of the 1st century AD.[48] The last section of the work, theExaltation of Melchizedek, tells how Melchizedek was born of a virgin, Sofonim (or Sopanima), the wife of Nir, a brother ofNoah. The child came out from his mother after she had died and sat on the bed beside her corpse, already physically developed, clothed, speaking and blessing the Lord, and marked with the badge of priesthood. Forty days later, Melchizedek was taken by the archangelGabriel (Michael in some manuscripts) to theGarden of Eden and was thus preserved from theDeluge without having to be inNoah's Ark.[49][50]
TheStory of Melchizedek is a shortpseudepigraphon composed in Greek in the first three centuries AD, probably in a Jewish milieu. It survives today only in Christian recensions, but in at least ten languages.[51]
11Q13 (11QMelch) is a fragment of a text, dated to the end of the second or start of the first century BC, about Melchizedek, found inCave 11 atQumran in theWest Bank and part of theDead Sea Scrolls. Melchizedek is seen as a divine being in the text and is referred to as "El" or "Elohim", titles usually reserved for God.[52] According to the text, Melchizedek will proclaim the "Day ofAtonement" and he will atone for the people who are predestined to him. He also will judge the peoples.[53]
TheGenesis Apocryphon (1QapGen) repeats information from Genesis.[54]
TheQumran Scrolls, also indicate that Melchizedek was used as a name of theArchangel Michael, interpreted as a heavenly priest; Michael asMelchi-zedek contrast withBelial, who is given the name ofMelchi-resha 'king of wickedness'.[55][56] The text of theEpistle to the Hebrews follows this interpretation in stating explicitly that the name in Greek translation (ἑρμηνευόμενος) meansβασιλεὺς δικαιοσύνης ('king of righteousness'), omitting translation of the possessive suffix; the same passage interprets Melchizedek's title of king of Salem as translating toβασιλεὺς εἰρήνης 'king of peace', the context being the presentation of Melchizedek's as an eternal priesthood associated with Jesus Christ (ἀφωμοιωμένος δὲ τῷ υἱῷ τοῦ θεοῦ μένει ἱερεὺς εἰς τὸ διηνεκές, 'made like unto theSon of God abideth a priest continually').[57]
Hebrew-languageTorah commentarians of theRishonim era (11th to 15th centuries) have explained the (seemingly) abrupt intrusion of Melchizedek into the narration in various ways;Hezekiah ben Manoah (c. 1250) points out that the following verses have Abraham refusing any of the king of Sodom's possessions[58] which, if not for the insertion of Melchizedek's hospitality, would prompt the query as to where Abraham and his weary men got their refreshments from.[59] The Rashbam,Shmuel ben Meir (11th century), offers a similar explanation but varies by saying that only Abram's men partook in the booty (originally belonging to the king of Sodom)[60] whereas the Melchizedek intrusion explains that Abram himself was sustained by Melchizedek since he refused to consume of the luxury of Sodom because his Lord was of the non-material world.[61] Likewise, the commentary ofChaim ibn Attar (17th century) offers a three-pronged slew of reasons for the Melchizedek insertion.[62]
The narrative preceding Melchizedek's introduction presents a picture of Melchizedek's involvement in the events of his era. The narration details Abram's rescue of his nephewLot and his spectacular defeat of multiple kings and goes on to define the meeting place of Melchizedek and Abram as "Emek HaShaveh which isEmek HaMelech". The meeting site has been associated withEmek Yehoshaphat (theValley of Josaphat).[63]Targum Onkelos describes the meeting location's size as "a plot the size of a king'sRiis".Midrashic exegesis describes how a large group of governors and kings convened in unison to pay homage to the victor Abram and desired to make him adeity, at which point he declined, attributing his victory to God's might and will alone.[64]
The chronological workSeder ha-Dorot (published 1769) quotes that Melchizedek was the first to initiate and complete a wall in circumference of the city,[65] and had to exit Salem to reach Abram and his men. Upon exiting Salem, he presented to them "bread and wine" with the intent to refresh them from their journey.[66] Assuming the premise that Melchizedek wasShem, he would have been 465 years old at the time and Abram was 75 years of age.[65]
Chazalic literature unanimously identify Melchizedek as Shem son ofNoah (Targum Yonathan to Genesis chapter 14,Genesis Rabbah 46:7,Babylonian Talmud to Tractate Nedarim 32b). TheTalmud Bavli attributes him (Shem and hisbeth din court of justice) as pioneers in banning prostitution (Avodah Zarah p. 36a).
There is, however, disagreement amongstRishonim as to whether Salem was Melchizedek/Shem's allocated residence by his father Noah or whether he was a foreigner in Salem which was considered the rightful land of his brotherCham. TheRamban is of the opinion that the land was rightfully owned and governed by the offspring ofCham, and explains that Melchizedek/Shem left his home country and came to Salem as a foreigner wishing to serve God as aKohen.[67] However,Rashi maintains that the land of Canaan was initially allotted to Shem, by Noah his father, and the offspring of Cham conquered the land by forced expansion.[68]
Although Melchizedek is the first person in theTorah to be titled aKohen (priest), themedrash records that he was preceded in priesthood (kehuna) byAdam.[69]Rabbinic commentarians to the Torah explain that Melchizedek – (sometimes associated with Shem) – was given the priesthood (Hebrew:kehuna) by receipt of his father Noah's blessing "G-d beatifiedYefeth andwill dwell in the house of Shem";[70] i.e., he will merit to serve and host God as aKohen.[71]
Torah Laws require that theKohen (priest) must be a patrilineal descendant of a priorKohen.[72]Leviticus Rabbah maintains that God intended topermanently bring forth the priesthood (Kehuna) through Melchizedek's patrilineal descendants, but since Melchizedekpreceded Abram's blessing to that of God,[73] God instead chose to bring the priesthood (kehuna) forth from Abram's descendants.[74] As the text states in regard to Melchizedek; "andhe is a Kohen" (והוא כהן) meaning himself in the exclusive sense and not his patrilineal descendants.[75]
TheOhr HaChayim commentary presents that God was not angered by Melchizedek's preceding Abram's blessing to that of God, since Abram was rightfully deemed worthy of precedence for independently coming to recognize God amidst a world ofPaganism, but Melchizedekwillingly gave the priesthood to Abram upon recognizing his outstanding uniqueness and godly character traits.[76]
Rabbinic authorities differ as to whetherkehuna was given to Abram there and then[77] or after the demise of Melchizedek.[78]
The Midrash records that Shem functioned askohen gadol (high priest) in that he taughtTorah to the Patriarchs before it was publicly given at Mount Sinai, while the official title of High Priest was conferred upon Aaron after the erection of theTabernacle.
The Midrash quotes multiple aspects of both Melchizedek and Abram; the Rabbis taught that Melchizedek acted as apriest and handed downAdam's robes to Abram (Numbers Rabbah 4:8).
Rabbi Isaac the Babylonian said that Melchizedek was borncircumcised (Genesis Rabbah 43:6). Melchizedek called Jerusalem "Salem." (Genesis Rabbah 56:10.) The Rabbis said that Melchizedek instructed Abram in theTorah. (Genesis Rabbah 43:6.) Rabbi Eleazar said that Melchizedek's school was one of three places where the Holy Spirit (Ruach HaKodesh) manifested himself (Babylonian Talmud Makkot 23b).
Rabbi Judah said in Rabbi Nehorai's name that Melchizedek's blessing yielded prosperity for Abram, Isaac, and Jacob (Genesis Rabbah 43:8). Ephraim Miksha'ah the disciple of Rabbi Meir said in the latter's name thatTamar descended from Melchizedek (Genesis Rabbah 85:10).
Rabbi Hana bar Bizna citing Rabbi Simeon Hasida identified Melchizedek as one of the four craftsmen of whomZechariah wrote in Zechariah 2:3.[79] (Babylonian Talmud Sukkah 52b; see alsoSong of Songs Rabbah 2:33 (crediting Rabbi Berekiah in the name of Rabbi Isaac).) The Talmud teaches thatDavid wrote the Book ofPsalms, including in it the work of the elders, including Melchizedek.[80]
Thus according to Jewish legend, confusion over Melchizedek being both King and Priest is solved by knowing that Shem was also a progenitor of the Davidic Monarchy, which descended from both Judah andTamar, who was sentenced to 'death by fire' when accused of committing prostitution as the daughter of high priest Shem.[81]
TheZohar (redacted byMoses de Leónc. 1290s) finds in "Melchizedek king of Salem" a reference to "the King Who rules with complete sovereignty". or according to another explanation, that "Melchizedek" alludes to the lower world and "king of Salem" to the upper world (Zohar 1:86b–87a). The Zohar's commentary on Genesis 14 cites a Rabbi Yitzchak as saying that it was God who gave tithe to Abram in the form of removing the Hebrew letterHe from his throne of glory and presenting it to the soul of Abram for his benefit.[citation needed] The letterhe is the letter God added to Abram's name to become "Abra-ha-m" in Genesis.
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In theNew Testament, references to Melchizedek appear only in theEpistle to the Hebrews, though these are extensive (Hebrews 5:6, 10; 6:20; 7:1, 10, 11, 15, 17, 21).[82]Jesus Christ is there identified as "a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek", quoting from Psalm 110:4.[83][84]
The association or identification of Melchizedek with theMessiah predates Christianity, developing inJewish messianism of theSecond Temple period.
A collection of earlyGnostic scripts dating on or before the 4th century, discovered in 1945 and known as theNag Hammadi library, contains a tractate pertaining to Melchizedek. Here it is proposed that Melchizedekis Jesus Christ.[85] Melchizedek, as Jesus Christ, lives, preaches, dies and is resurrected, in a gnostic perspective.The Coming of the Son of God Melchizedek speaks of his return to bring peace, supported by God, and he is a priest-king who dispenses justice.[86]
The association withChrist is made explicit by the author of theEpistle to the Hebrews, where Melchizedek the "king of righteousness" and "king of peace" is explicitly associated with the "eternal priesthood" of theSon of God.[87][88][89]
This association between Melchizedek and Jesus is indirectly supported by a quotation attributed directly to Jesus himself in theGospel of John, in which Jesus obliquely claims to have personally met Abraham: "Abraham your father rejoiced to see my day; he saw it and was glad." (John 8:56.)[90]
TheChristological interpretation of this Old Testament character being a prefiguration or prototype of the Christ has varied between Christian denominations.Typological association of Jesus Christ with Old Testament characters occurs frequently in the New Testament and in later Christian writings; thus, Jesus Christ is also associated with Adam (as the "New Adam") and withAbraham.[91] The bread and wine offering of Melchizedek has been interpreted by church fathers includingClement of Alexandria as being a prefiguration of theEucharist.[92]
ThePelagians saw in Melchizedek merely a man who lived a perfect life.[93]
Melchizedek is mentioned in theRoman Canon, the FirstEucharistic Prayer of theRoman rite of theCatholic Church, and also figures in the currentRoman Martyrology as a commemoration on August 26.[94]
He is commemorated in theEastern Orthodox Church on May 22,[95] and on the "Sunday of the Forefathers" (two Sundays before Christmas). In theCalendar of Saints of theArmenian Apostolic Church Melkisetek (Armenian:Մելքիսեդեք,romanized: Melkisetek) is commemorated as one of the Holy Forefathers on July 26.
Traditional Protestant Christian denominations,following Luther, teach that Melchizedek was a historical figure and an archetype of Christ.[96]
Tremper Longman III notes that a popular understanding of the relationship between Melchizedek and Jesus is that Melchizedek is an Old TestamentChristophany – in other words, that Melchizedekis Jesus, or at the very least, is a close resemblance of Jesus.[97]
In theLatter Day Saint movement, theBook of Mormon makes reference to Melchizedek in (Alma 13:17–19).[98] According toEncyclopædia Britannica,Joseph Smith, the movement's founder, "appointed his male followers to priesthoods, named for the biblical figures Melchizedek and Aaron, that were overseen by the office of High Priest", incorporating selected practices from the Hebrew Bible.[99] These priesthoods are laid out by Smith in Doctrine and Covenants 107:1–2, 4, 6–10, 14, 17–18, 22, 29, 71, 73, 76,[100] as well as more than twenty additional references in that work.
The largest denomination in the movement,the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, states it derives authority to act in God's name through the Melchizedek Priesthood, both from an administrative perspective—performing sacred ordinances—and a ministering capacity. According to the church's summary of theMelchizedek Priesthood, there are but two priesthoods, "the Melchizedek and the Aaronic." And that the Melchizedek is the higher or greater priesthood, "after the order of the Son of God (or Jesus Christ)." According to their doctrine, this priesthood is the priesthood of Jesus Christ himself, i.e. it is his power which he delegates to certain persons as he sees fit by "calling". This power is not directly cited as His power to avoid the frequent repetition of His sacred name.[101] Its offices include elder, high priest, patriarch, seventy, and apostle.[102]
Although Melchizedek is not referred to in theQuran, some have identified him with the figure known as theKhidr. InIsma'ilism, Melchizedek (known as Malik as-Salām;lit. 'King of Peace') is believed to have been the one to initiate Abraham into prophethood.[103] An Ismaili treatise dated to the 1300s proclaimed that Melchizedek would return following theresurrection as a righteous judge and reveal the divine mysteries which the prophets have kept secret throughout the centuries.[104]
Melchizedek appears as a character inPaulo Coelho's novelThe Alchemist, where he guides the protagonist, Santiago.[105]
Melchisedec is the name of a rat befriended by Sarah Crewe inThe Little Princess byFrances Hodgson Burnett.[106]
Melchizedek has a brief appearance inSamuel Butler's 'The Way of All Flesh'[107]
Employment of the verb without a subject, not uncommon in biblical usage, occurs at the end of verse 20, where the Hebrew does not state what the context implies, that it is Abram who gives the tithe.
Targum Pseudo-Jonathan makes it clear that Abraham paid tithes to Melchizedek, as does the interpretation adopted by Jub. 13.25–27; Josephus Ant. 1.181; Philo Cong. 93, 99; and, of course, the epistle to the Hebrews [7:4].
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)He appointed his male followers to priesthoods, named for the biblical figures Melchizedek and Aaron, that were overseen by the office of High Priest.
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