Psalms 110:4

110:4 The Lord makes this promise on oath ¹  and will not revoke it: ² 

“You are an eternal priest ³  after the pattern of ⁴  Melchizedek.” ⁵ 

Hebrews 5:6

5:6 as also in another place God ⁶  says, “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.” ⁷ 

Hebrews 5:10

5:10 and he was designated ⁸  by God as high priest in the order of Melchizedek. ⁹ 

Hebrews 6:20--7:1

6:20 where Jesus our forerunner entered on our behalf, since he became a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek. ¹⁰ 

The Nature of Melchizedek’s Priesthood

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. ¹¹ 

Hebrews 7:3

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.

Hebrews 7:10-22

7:10 For he was still in his ancestor Abraham’s loins ¹²  when Melchizedek met him.

Jesus and the Priesthood of Melchizedek

7:11 So if perfection had in fact been possible through the Levitical priesthood – for on that basis ¹³  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 ¹⁴  as well. 7:13 Yet the one these things are spoken about belongs to ¹⁵  a different tribe, and no one from that tribe ¹⁶  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, 7:16 who has become a priest not by a legal regulation about physical descent ¹⁷  but by the power of an indestructible life. 7:17 For here is the testimony about him: ¹⁸  “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.” ¹⁹  7:18 On the one hand a former command is set aside ²⁰  because it is weak and useless, ²¹  7:19 for the law made nothing perfect. On the other hand a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God. 7:20 And since ²²  this was not done without a sworn affirmation – for the others have become priests without a sworn affirmation, 7:21 but Jesus ²³  did so ²⁴  with a sworn affirmation by the one who said to him, “The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, ‘You are a priest forever’” ²⁵  – 7:22 accordingly Jesus has become the guarantee ²⁶  of a better covenant.

[110:4]  ¹ tn Or “swears, vows.”

[110:4]  ² tn Or “will not change his mind.” The negated Niphal imperfect of נָחַם (nakham) is a way of marking an announcement as an irrevocable decree. See 1 Sam 15:29; Ezek 24:14, as well as R. B. Chisholm, “Does God ‘Change His Mind’?” BSac 152 (1995): 387-99.

[110:4]  ³ sn You are an eternal priest. The Davidic king exercised a non-Levitical priestly role. The king superintended Judah’s cultic ritual, had authority over the Levites, and sometimes led in formal worship. David himself instructed the Levites to bring the ark of the covenant to Jerusalem (1 Chr 15:11-15), joined the procession, offered sacrifices, wore a priestly ephod, and blessed the people (2 Sam 6:12-19). At the dedication of the temple Solomon led the ceremony, offering sacrifices and praying on behalf of the people (1 Kgs 8).

[110:4]  ⁴ tn The phrase עַל־דִּבְרָתִי (’al-divratiy) is a variant of עַל־דִּבְרָת (’al-divrat; the final yod [י] being an archaic genitival ending), which in turn is a variant of עַל דָּבַר (’al davar). Both phrases can mean “concerning” or “because of,” but neither of these nuances fits the use of עַל־דִּבְרָתִי in Ps 110:4. Here the phrase probably carries the sense “according to the manner of.” See L. C. Allen, Psalms 101-150 (WBC), 81.

[110:4]  ⁵ sn The Davidic king’s priestly role is analogous to that of Melchizedek, who was both “king of Salem” (i.e., Jerusalem) and a “priest of God Most High” in the time of Abraham (Gen 14:18-20). Like Melchizedek, the Davidic king was a royal priest, distinct from the Aaronic line (see Heb 7). The analogy focuses on the king’s priestly role; the language need not imply that Melchizedek himself was “an eternal priest.”

[5:6]  ⁶ tn Grk “he”; the referent (God) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[5:6]  ⁷ sn A quotation from Ps 110:4.

[5:10]  ⁸ tn Grk “having been designated,” continuing the thought of Heb 5:9.

[5:10]  ⁹ sn The phrase in the order of Melchizedek picks up the quotation from Ps 110:4 in Heb 5:6.

[6:20]  ¹⁰ sn A quotation from Ps 110:4, picked up again from Heb 5:6, 10.

[7:1]  ¹¹ sn A series of quotations from Gen 14:17-19.

[7:10]  ¹² 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).

[7:11]  ¹³ tn Grk “based on it.”

[7:12]  ¹⁴ tn Grk “of necessity a change in the law comes to pass.”

[7:13]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “shares in.”

[7:13]  ¹⁶ tn Grk “from which no one.”

[7:16]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “a law of a fleshly command.”

[7:17]  ¹⁸ tn Grk “for he/it is witnessed that.”

[7:17]  ¹⁹ sn A quotation from Ps 110:4 (see Heb 5:6 and 6:20).

[7:18]  ²⁰ tn Grk “the setting aside of a former command comes to pass.”

[7:18]  ²¹ tn Grk “because of its weakness and uselessness.”

[7:20]  ²² sn The Greek text contains an elaborate comparison between v. 20a and v. 22, with a parenthesis (vv. 20b-21) in between; the comparison is literally, “by as much as…by so much” or “to the degree that…to that same degree.”

[7:21]  ²³ tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

[7:21]  ²⁴ tn The words “did so” are not in the Greek text, but are implied.

[7:21]  ²⁵ sn A quotation from Ps 110:4 (see Heb 5:6, 6:20, and 7:17).

[7:22]  ²⁶ tn Or “surety.”