Who was Melchizedek (sometimes spelled Melchisedec). Paul refers to him in Hebrews chapter 7
- Hebrews 7:1-3
- For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him;
- To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace;
- Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually.
The writer of Hebrews noted that Melchizedek had no recorded genealogy in the priesthood, possibly because records weren’t kept in Abraham’s time. Moses later wrote about this meeting (see Gen. 14) when he composed the Torah in the wilderness, centuries after Abraham’s encounter with Melchizedek.
The writer of Hebrews and his audience understood that the Jewish priesthood began during Moses’ time in the wilderness, following the revelation of the Ten Commandments and the building of the tabernacle. Aaron was the first high priest, succeeded by his sons, and from then on, the names of all high priests serving in the tabernacle and later in the temple were carefully recorded and preserved. Hebrews 7 refers to Psalm 110:4.
- “You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.”
When the writer of Hebrews said Melchizedek was without father, mother, or genealogy,
- it meant there was no written record of his origins, unlike the documented lineage of the sons of Levi from Aaron, who served in the tabernacle.
Hebrews compares the ministries of Christ and Melchizedek.
- Melchizedek appeared without a recorded past and was both king and priest,
- Christ also belonged to that same priestly order, having no earthly father and not coming from the tribe of Levi, from which the sons of Aaron descended.
- All priests came from the tribe of Levi, but Christ was from the tribe of Judah.
- Being from Judah connected Him to the lineage of David and gave Him the rights of royalty, yet it also meant He was not from the priestly line.
- The writer of Hebrews emphasized this uniqueness:
- Christ was the High Priest from the tribe of Judah.
- Christ is both a priest and a King.
- Melchizedek was a king-priest.
- Christ was the High Priest from the tribe of Judah.
Now here is a simple yet complicated theological question:
If Melchizedek was a pre-incarnation of Jesus Christ, then how could he be after the order of what he already was?
- This would make him an order of himself.
- Secondly, this would imply that Christ lived in the flesh more than 1,800 years before He became flesh, meaning that He became flesh twice.
- This would justify the heretical teaching of reincarnation that is part of the Hindu religion.
I believe there is a simple yet very interesting possibility as to who this mysterious first king and priest of Jerusalem was. The story begins with Noah.
Remember that Noah had 3 sons.
The three sons of Noah Shem, Ham, and Japheth would eventually settle in different parts of the world and begin repopulating the earth. The book of Genesis lists the names of the descendants of Noah’s sons, and researchers identify the early nations with the parts of the earth.
- Ham’s descendants settled in the area of northern Africa.
- Japheth’s descendants settled in Russia and northern Europe
- Shem’s descendants chose Arabia, Palestine, and Syria.
Of the three sons of Noah, there is one through whom the lineage of the Messiah came – the lineage of Shem. Noah gave a powerful prophecy to Shem in Genesis 9:26:
- “And he said, Blessed be the Lord God of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.”
Noah continues this prophecy in Genesis 9:27:
- “God shall enlarge Japheth, and he shall dwell in the tents of Shem; and Canaan shall be his servant.”
This prophecy is very revealing.
- Noah mentions Canaan, the fourth son of Ham, twice.
- Canaan became the father of the Canaanites, who are mentioned throughout the Old Testament.
- The many tribes living in Israel during the time of Joshua and the judges were descendants of Canaan.
- Since Canaan would serve Shem, it seems that Shem or his descendants would rule over Canaan.
- Noah also refers to the tents of Shem, meaning the children of Shem dwelling near Canaan.
- It’s possible that Shem himself settled in the land of Canaan, known today as Israel.
- The Hebrew people descended from Shem’s lineage through his great-grandson Eber (see Gen. 10:21-24).
- Terah, Abraham’s father, was also from Shem’s line, making him part of the She tribal identity. Abraham’s descendants were called Hebrews, from the word “Ibriy,” meaning “an Eberite,” referring to their descent from Eber in Shem’s lineage.
- Canaan became the father of the Canaanites, who are mentioned throughout the Old Testament.
The Shem Connection
For centuries, Jewish sages have believed that the Melchizedek mentioned in Scripture was actually Shem, the righteous son of Noah who settled in Canaan, particularly in a place called Salem, later known as Jerusalem.
- Genesis 14:18 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God.
This view is reflected in the book of Jasher, which says that Shem and Eber lived in Jerusalem and ran a special teaching academy there. According to Jasher, several patriarchs sent their sons to this academy for spiritual instruction.
- Jasher XVI, 11 “And Anonizedek, king of Jerusalem, who was Shem, went out with his men to meet Abram and his people with bread and wine, and they remained together in the valley of Melech”.
The book also says Shem and Eber were present at Sarah’s burial:
- Jasher XXIV, 14-15 “And Abraham buried Sarah with pomp… And at the bier was Shem, his son Eber…”.
After Sarah’s death, it adds:
- Jasher XXIV, 17 “When the days of mourning had passed, Abraham sent his son Isaac to the house of Shem and Eber to learn the ways of the Lord and His instructions, and he remained there three years”.
The first argument that arises when we teach that Melchizedek was actually Shem, to whom the lineage of the Hebrews came and the Messiah was promised, is this:
- Wouldn’t Shem have already died before the time of Abraham and Isaac?
The answer is no.
- Shem was about one hundred years old when the flood came and covered the earth (compare Gen. 5:32 and Gen. 7:6).
- Two years after the flood, Shem’s son Arphaxad was born (see Gen. 11:10).
- Shem was 102 years old at that time.
- Eber, his great-grandson, was born when Shem was about 173 years old.
- If we move forward to the time of Abraham and Isaac:
- Shem died when he was six hundred years of age (see Gen. 11:10-11).
- According to the chronology of scholars:
- Abraham lived to the year 2121 BC
- Shem lived until 2156 BC.
Therefore, Shem was still living in the time of Abraham and into the time of Isaac.
At the time of Shem, Jerusalem (called Salem) was separated into two divisions: the lower slope and the upper slope.
- The lower slope
- The lower slope included the eastern slope of the area known as the Temple Mount.
- The east was called Salem (or in Hebrew Shalem)
- The lower slope included the eastern slope of the area known as the Temple Mount.
- The upper city (or western area) included the Temple Mount and part of the area where the future altar of the temple would sit.
- The west was called Yirah (a name given by Abraham in Gen. 22:14).
- The two names joined together to form the name Jerusalem.
The early city became large enough to be governed by Shem, who was given the title Melchizedek. Under Melchizedek, both slopes of the city were joined together.
When Abraham met Melchizedek, this king-priest was controlling the lower section of the city identified in Scripture as the “king’s dale” (see Gen. 14:17). Today this area is called the Kidron Valley, which runs below the Eastern Gate toward the village of Silwan.
Seeing that Shem would rule over Canaan and that the Hebrews were identified with Shem’s great-grandson Eber (don’t forget that Shem was still living in the time of Abraham and that from his lineage came the Messiah), Melchizedek could have been Shem.
The book of Hebrews emphasizes that Melchizedek was both a king and a priest; he is a picture of the ministry of Christ.
- Jesus is presently the High Priest of the profession of our faith.
- Hebrews 8:1 Now of the things which we have spoken this is the sum: We have such an high priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens;
- Hebrews 9:11 But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;
- He will return to earth in the future to be proclaimed the King of kings.
- Psalms 110:4 The Lord hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.
- Hebrews 7:1-3
- For this Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him;
- To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace;
- Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually.
The writer of Hebrews compares Christ to Melchizedek but never says He was Melchizedek.
Since Melchizedek was a king-priest and Jesus is after the order of Melchizedek (king-priest), then all believers are a part of the same priesthood.
- We are presently priests unto God offering sacrifices of praise and financial gifts to Christ who receives them in heaven.
- Hebrews 7:8 And here men that die receive tithes; but there he receiveth them, of whom it is witnessed that he liveth.
- In the future, we will rule and reign with Christ on earth as kings:
- Revelation 1:6 “And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be
glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.”
- Revelation 1:6 “And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be
- As priests we have spiritual authority to approach God in heaven. As kings we will be given spiritual dominion on the earth during the thousand-year reign of Christ. This is why it is important to understand that Christ is after the order of Melchizedek.
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