Zechariah 6:11

6:11 Then take some silver and gold to make a crown ¹  and set it on the head of Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest.

Genesis 14:18

14:18 Melchizedek king of Salem ²  brought out bread and wine. (Now he was the priest of the Most High God.) ³ 

Psalms 110:4

110:4 The Lord makes this promise on oath ⁴  and will not revoke it: ⁵ 

“You are an eternal priest ⁶  after the pattern of ⁷  Melchizedek.” ⁸ 

Hebrews 3:1

Jesus and Moses

3:1 Therefore, holy brothers and sisters, ⁹  partners in a heavenly calling, take note of Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess, ¹⁰ 

Hebrews 4:14-16

Jesus Our Compassionate High Priest

4:14 Therefore since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast to our confession. 4:15 For we do not have a high priest incapable of sympathizing with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in every way just as we are, yet without sin. 4:16 Therefore let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and find grace whenever we need help. ¹¹ 

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. ¹² 

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. ¹³ 

Hebrews 7:24-28

7:24 but he holds his priesthood permanently since he lives forever. 7:25 So he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. 7:26 For it is indeed fitting for us to have such a high priest: holy, innocent, undefiled, separate from sinners, and exalted above the heavens. 7:27 He has no need to do every day what those priests do, to offer sacrifices first for their own sins and then for the sins of the people, since he did this in offering himself once for all. 7:28 For the law appoints as high priests men subject to weakness, ¹⁴  but the word of solemn affirmation that came after the law appoints a son made perfect forever.

Hebrews 10:12-13

10:12 But when this priest ¹⁵  had offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, he sat down at the right hand ¹⁶  of God, 10:13 where he is now waiting ¹⁷  until his enemies are made a footstool for his feet. ¹⁸ 

[6:11]  ¹ tn Heb “crowns” (so KJV, ASV; also in v. 14). The Hebrew word for “crown” here is עֲטֶרֶת (’ateret), a term never used in the OT for the priestly crown or mitre. Thus, the scene here describes the investing of the priest with royal authority.

[14:18]  ² 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 Lord declares that the Davidic king is a royal priest after the pattern of Melchizedek.

[14:18]  ³ tn The parenthetical disjunctive clause significantly identifies Melchizedek as a priest as well as a king.

[110:4]  ⁴ tn Or “swears, vows.”

[110:4]  ⁵ 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]  ⁶ 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]  ⁷ 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]  ⁸ 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.”

[3:1]  ⁹ tn Grk “brothers.” See note on the phrase “brothers and sisters” in 2:11.

[3:1]  ¹⁰ tn Grk “of our confession.”

[4:16]  ¹¹ tn Grk “for timely help.”

[6:20]  ¹² sn A quotation from Ps 110:4, picked up again from Heb 5:6, 10.

[7:1]  ¹³ sn A series of quotations from Gen 14:17-19.

[7:28]  ¹⁴ sn See Heb 5:2 where this concept was introduced.

[10:12]  ¹⁵ tn Grk “this one.” This pronoun refers to Jesus, but “this priest” was used in the translation to make the contrast between the Jewish priests in v. 11 and Jesus as a priest clearer in English.

[10:12]  ¹⁶ sn An allusion to Ps 110:1.

[10:13]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “from then on waiting.”

[10:13]  ¹⁸ sn An allusion to Ps 110:1.