Hebrews 7:11-15

Jesus and the Priesthood of Melchizedek

7:11 So if perfection had in fact been possible through the Levitical priesthood – for on that basis ¹  the people received the law – what further need would there have been for another priest to arise, said to be in the order of Melchizedek and not in Aaron’s order? 7:12 For when the priesthood changes, a change in the law must come ²  as well. 7:13 Yet the one these things are spoken about belongs to ³  a different tribe, and no one from that tribe ⁴  has ever officiated at the altar. 7:14 For it is clear that our Lord is descended from Judah, yet Moses said nothing about priests in connection with that tribe. 7:15 And this is even clearer if another priest arises in the likeness of Melchizedek,

Numbers 16:40

16:40 It was a memorial for the Israelites, that no outsider who is not a descendant of ⁵  Aaron should approach to burn incense before the Lord, that he might not become like Korah and his company – just as the Lord had spoken by the authority ⁶  of Moses.

Numbers 17:12-13

17:12 The Israelites said to Moses, “We are bound to die! ⁷  We perish, we all perish! 17:13 (17:28) ⁸  Anyone who even comes close to the tabernacle of the Lord will die! Are we all to die?” ⁹ 

Numbers 18:5

18:5 You will be responsible for the care of the sanctuary and the care of the altar, so that there will be ¹⁰  no more wrath on the Israelites.

Numbers 18:2

18:2 “Bring with you your brothers, the tribe of Levi, the tribe of your father, so that they may join ¹¹  with you and minister to you while ¹²  you and your sons with you are before the tent of the testimony.

Numbers 26:18-19

26:18 These were the families of the Gadites according to those numbered of them, 40,500. ¹³ 

Judah

26:19 The descendants of Judah were Er and Onan, but Er and Onan died in the land of Canaan.

¹ tn Grk “based on it.”

² tn Grk “of necessity a change in the law comes to pass.”

³ tn Grk “shares in.”

⁴ tn Grk “from which no one.”

⁵ tn Heb “from the seed of.”

⁶ tn Heb “hand.”

⁷ tn The use of הֵן (hen) and the perfect tense in the nuance of a prophetic perfect expresses their conviction that they were bound to die – it was certain (see GKC 312-13 §106.n).

⁸ sn Num 17:13 in the English Bible is 17:28 in the Hebrew text (BHS). See also the note on 16:36.

⁹ tn The verse stresses the completeness of their death: “will we be consumed by dying” (הַאִם תַּמְנוּ לִגְוֹעַ, ha’im tamnu ligvoa’).

¹⁰ tn The clause is a purpose clause, and the imperfect tense a final imperfect.

¹¹ sn The verb forms a wordplay on the name Levi, and makes an allusion to the naming of the tribe Levi by Leah in the book of Genesis. There Leah hoped that with the birth of Levi her husband would be attached to her. Here, with the selection of the tribe to serve in the sanctuary, there is the wordplay again showing that the Levites will be attached to Aaron and the priests. The verb is יִלָּווּ (yillavu), which forms a nice wordplay with Levi (לֵוִי). The tribe will now be attached to the sanctuary. The verb is the imperfect with a vav (ו) that shows volitive sequence after the imperative, here indicating a purpose clause.

¹² tn The clause is a circumstantial clause because the disjunctive vav (ו) is on a nonverb to start the clause.

¹³ sn The Gadites decreased from 45,650 to 40,500.