7:1 Now this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, met Abraham as he was returning from defeating the kings and blessed him. 4 7:2 To him 5 also Abraham apportioned a tithe 6 of everything. 7 His name first means 8 king of righteousness, then king of Salem, that is, king of peace. 7:3 Without father, without mother, without genealogy, he has neither beginning of days nor end of life but is like the son of God, and he remains a priest for all time. 7:4 But see how great he must be, if 9 Abraham the patriarch gave him a tithe 10 of his plunder. 7:5 And those of the sons of Levi who receive the priestly office 11 have authorization according to the law to collect a tithe from the people, that is, from their fellow countrymen, 12 although they too are descendants of Abraham. 13 7:6 But Melchizedek 14 who does not share their ancestry 15 collected a tithe 16 from Abraham and blessed 17 the one who possessed the promise. 7:7 Now without dispute the inferior is blessed by the superior, 7:8 and in one case tithes are received by mortal men, while in the other by him who is affirmed to be alive. 7:9 And it could be said that Levi himself, who receives tithes, paid a tithe through Abraham. 7:10 For he was still in his ancestor Abraham’s loins 18 when Melchizedek met him.
1 sn Salem is traditionally identified as the Jebusite stronghold of old Jerusalem. Accordingly, there has been much speculation about its king. Though some have identified him with the preincarnate Christ or with Noah’s son Shem, it is far more likely that Melchizedek was a Canaanite royal priest whom God used to renew the promise of the blessing to Abram, perhaps because Abram considered Melchizedek his spiritual superior. But Melchizedek remains an enigma. In a book filled with genealogical records he appears on the scene without a genealogy and then disappears from the narrative. In Psalm 110 the
2 tn The parenthetical disjunctive clause significantly identifies Melchizedek as a priest as well as a king.
3 sn A quotation from Ps 110:4, picked up again from Heb 5:6, 10.
4 sn A series of quotations from Gen 14:17-19.
5 tn Grk “to whom,” continuing the description of Melchizedek. Because of the length and complexity of the Greek sentence, a new sentence was started here in the translation.
6 tn Or “a tenth part.”
7 sn A quotation from Gen 14:20.
8 tn Grk “first being interpreted,” describing Melchizedek.
9 tn Grk “to whom.”
10 tn Or “a tenth part.”
11 tn Or “the priesthood.”
12 tn Grk “from their brothers.” See BDAG 18-19 s.v. ἀδελφός 2.b.
13 tn Grk “have come from the loins of Abraham.”
14 tn Grk “the one”; in the translation the referent (Melchizedek) has been specified for clarity.
15 tn Grk “is not descended from them.”
16 tn Or “a tenth part.”
17 sn The verbs “collected…and blessed” emphasize the continuing effect of the past actions, i.e., Melchizedek’s importance.
18 tn Grk “in the loins of his father” (a reference to Abraham). The name “Abraham” has been repeated in the translation at this point (cf. v. 9) in order to clarify the referent (i.e., what ancestor was in view).