A Jewish Scholar Grapples with Melchizedek

17 And the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley), after his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him. 18 Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God Most High. 19 And he blessed him and said: ​ ​​“Blessed be Abram of God Most High, ​​Possessor of heaven and earth; 20 ​​And blessed be God Most High, ​​Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.”  — Gen.14

“…almost everything about him was mysterious for ancient interpreters. “

“For Melchizedek seemed to be a priest. But how could that be? The priesthood itself had not yet been established, nor had the Jerusalem Temple been built. Yet here was melchizedek, bluntly described as a ‘priest of God most High.’ Not only that, but Melchizedek apparently had not the slightest connection to the priesthood that would eventually be established in Israel – for that priesthood was hereditary, and its family line went back through Abraham, not Melchizedek! Who was this so-called priest?”

“The main thing that he did, according to the biblical account, was to ‘bring out bread and wine.’ “

…”Melchizedek seems to mean something like ‘king of righteousness’ or ‘king of justice’ in Hebrew…”

Author includes quote from the book of Hebrews: “He is first, by the translation of his name, king of righteousness.” Heb.7:2

Author comments on Psalm 110

 – “The psalm would thus seem to recount that Melchizedek had been appointed to the priesthood by God Himself.”

–“…the Melchizedek described in the psalm seemed in some ways superhuman. His royal scepter had come from God Himself…In fact, Melchizedek is apparently the ‘lord’ referred to in the first line, who was commanded by God to ‘sit at my right hand’ like some sort of angel or divine being. It is from this interpretation of Psalm 110 that there emerged the figure of a heavenly Melchizedek, an angelic being who sits next to the divine throne. Such a Melchizedek is found in the Dead Sea Scrolls, where (in a text going back to the early first or second century BCE) he is said to be ready to punish the guilty and save the righteous in the great day or reckoning.”

Re Psalm 110:6 – “The Septuagint translation of this verse reads:  ‘ From the womb, before the morning star, I have begotten you.’ (LXX, ps.110:5)  If these words were spoken by God to Melchizedek (as they seemed to be in context, then the ymeant that Melchizedek is God’s ‘son.’

“A somewhat related Melchizedek appears in the work called 2 Enoch, which may go back to the early first century CE. In this text, Melchizedek seems to be born to Sopanim, the wife of Noahs (mythical) brother Nir, WITHOUT ANY PRIOR ACT OF SEXUAL INTERCOURSE. (2 Enoch 12). The idea that Melchizedek was so conceived may be in keeping with the interpretation of Ps.110:5 just seen: God’s words ‘I have begotten you’ menat that Melchizedek was begotten without any human progenitor.”  2 Enoch also speaks of Melchizedek being safe through the flood: ‘And Melchizedek will be my priest to all priests, and I will sanctify him and I will change him into a great people who will sanctify me.’ “

Christian views on Melchizedek:

Author refers to Psalm 110:4 – “  A second way of reading the crucial verse:  ‘You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.’ If so, then the psalm was addressed not to Melchizedek but to some undefined ‘you’, a ‘you’ who is also being referred to in the first line of the psalm as ‘my lord.’  Early Christians interpreted this ‘you’ as Jesus. “

“For the author of Hebrews, it was certainly important that the Melchizedek of Gen 14:17-20 was a ‘priest to God Most High’ without having been from the traditional priestly line. For, this meant that the ‘you’ of Psalm 110 – by this interpretation, Jesus – could likewise be appointed a high priest without being of priestly descent. (see heb.9:11-12). That is what ‘You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek’ meant to this author – a priest directly appointed by God. “

“It was not a big step to interpret the person of Melchizedek as foreshadowing other elements of Christianity, including the Eucharist:  ‘Salem means specifically ‘peace’, of which out Savior is said to be king. For concerning him does Moses say, ‘Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of God Most High.’ He offers him ‘bread and wine’ (gen 14:18), holy food, as a prefiguring of the eucharist. It is true that the name ‘Melchizedek’ means ‘just king,’ but justice and peace are synonyms.” (Clement of Alexandria)

From “The Bible as it Was” by James Kugel

Nature of Christ (Hilary)

“The names ‘Father’ and ‘Son’, being parts of the revelation, are convincing proofs of distinction of Person as well as unity of nature. They probe that the nature is the same, but possessed after a different manner by Each of the Two; by the One as ingenerate, by the Other as begotten.”

“All the theophanies of the Old Testament are such revelations by Him (Christ) of Himself; and it was He that spoke by the mouth of Moses and the Prophets. But however significant and valuable this Divine teaching and manifestation might be, it was not complete in itself, but was designed to prepare men’s hearts to expect its fulfillment in the Incarnation. Just as the Law was preliminary to the Gospel, so the appearances of Christ in human form to Abraham and to others were foreshadowing of the true humanity which He was to assume. They were true revelations, as far as they went, but their purpose was not simply to impart so much knowledge as they explicitly conveyed, but also lead men on to expect more, and to expect it in the very form in which it ultimately came.

His self-revelation in the Incarnation was but treading a familiar path. He had often appeared, and had often spoken, by His own mouth or by that of men whom He had inspired; and in all this contact with the world His one object had been to bestow upon mankind the knowledge of God. “

Hilary of Poitiers