Genesis 14:17-20.
Psalm 110:4; Hebrews 5:10; 6:20
Melchizedek (Heb. Malkî-tsedeq; Gr. Melchizedek, “my king is just”, “my king is justice” or “king of justice”). King of Salem and priest of the Most High God, who, when Abraham returned with the captives and booty recovered from the 4 invading kings, met him, gave him bread and wine, and blessed him. For his part, Abraham gave him tithes of all the spoil (Gen 14: 1, 2, 11-20). The identity of Melchizedek has been much discussed. The Scriptures give very little information regarding him. Salem* is most likely an abbreviated form of Jerusalem, as indicated by Psa 6:2 As he was both king of Jerusalem and priest of the most high God, he is presented as a symbol of Christ, who also united in himself the 2 offices of king and king. priest (Psa 110:2-4; Heb 6:20-7:21; see CBA 1:321, 322; 7:454, 455). The statement at Heb 7:3 that Melchizedek was “without father, without mother, without genealogy” no doubt simply means that his genealogy is not known or recorded. This expression finds parallels in extrabiblical records: A. Urukagina, one of the early kings of Lagash, said that he had no father or mother, but that the god Ningirsu had appointed him as king, a statement by which he admitted that he was a usurper and he had not inherited the kingdom. B. Abdu-Heba, a king of Jerusalem in the 14th century BC, writes in the Amarna Letters* to the Egyptian Pharaoh: “Behold this land of Jerusalem: Neither my father nor my mother gave (it) to me, (but) the arm of the mighty king gave (it) to me.” Bib.: ANET 488.
Source: Evangelical Bible Dictionary
priest-king of Salem, whom Abraham met after the battle with Chedorlaomer and the allied kings; M. blessed him and Abraham gave him a tenth of everything, Gn 14, 18-21. This M., a character who appears fleetingly and mysteriously in this biblical passage, as king of Salem, that is to say of Jerusalem, the city chosen by Yahweh to establish his dwelling there, is a priest of the Most High, long before the institution of the Levites, he is considered in Ps 110 (109), 4, as a figure of David, who in turn is a prophetic figure of Jesus, the Christ, the Messiah, king and perpetual priest. This prefiguration of the perpetual priesthood of Jesus was developed in the epistle to the Hebrews, where the meaning of the name M. is explained, “king of justice”, king of Salem, that is, “king of peace”. As the Scripture is silent about his ancestors and his descendants, according to the author of the letter it indicates the eternity of his priesthood as that of Christ. As neither M. nor Jesus belong to the Levitical lineage, an eternal priesthood, in the manner of M., and not in the manner of Aaron, replaces the old priesthood, considered already outdated, that of Jesus. Aaron’s priesthood was by law of carnal succession, and the sacred text says: “The Law makes weak men high priests; but the word of the oath, subsequent to the Law, names one who is a Son, perfect for eternity† , Heb 7.
Digital Bible Dictionary, Grupo C Service & Design Ltda., Colombia, 2003
Source: Digital Bible Dictionary
(Heb., melkitsedhek, king of justice). A priest and king of Salem, identified with Jerusalem.
Melchizedek went to meet Abram when he was returning from defeating Quedarlaomer and the kings who were with him. He presented Abram with bread and wine and blessed him in the name of God Most High, creator of heaven and earth. Abram gave him a tenth of everything. The Hebrew word for God on this occasion is the same as in such phrases as God Almighty (Gen 17:1), the Eternal God (Gen 21:33) and God of Bethel (Gen 35:7) and is the oldest Semitic designation for God .
Melchizedek was then a monotheist and essentially worshiped the same God as Abram, who recognized him as a priest.
The next time Melchizedek appears is in Psa 110:4: You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. This psalm is of special interest because Jesus refers to it (Matt 22:44; Mark 12:35-36; Luk 20:41-42) and it is considered one of the Messianic psalms. The ideal sovereign of the Hebrew nation would be one who combined in his person the role of both priest and king. The author of the epistle to the Hebrews uses Melchizedek (Hebrews 5-7) in the great argument of him demonstrating how Jesus Christ is the final and perfect revelation of God. The ideal priest must belong to the order of Melchizedek, and Christ was the fulfillment of this prophecy, since he came from Judah, a tribe with no ties to the Levitical priesthood.
Source: Hispanic World Bible Dictionary
“King of Salem and priest of the Most High God” (Gen 14:18) “who went out to meet Abraham returning from the defeat of the kings” of the plain (Heb 7:1). His † œname means first King of Righteousness, and also King of Salem, that is, King of peace † (Heb 7:2). Salem was later known as Jerusalem. When David made this the capital city of Israel he was acknowledging its antiquity as a holy city and appealing to the old tradition of M. (Ps 110:4). The meeting between Abraham and M. took place in †œthe valley of Save, which is the Valley of the King† (Gen 14:17), generally identified with †¢Kedron. M. “brought out bread and wine” (Gen 14:18). This act does not have to have been necessarily liturgical, because Abraham’s men came tired and surely needed a snack. M. blessed Abraham and God Most High “and Abraham gave him a tenth of everything” (Gen 14:19-20). It is evident that Abraham recognized that M. was a priest of the same God whom he served (Gen 14:22). Interpreting Ps 110:4, the author of Acts points out that the Messiah would be a priest “after the order of M.† and that this priesthood had precedence over that of the sons of Levi (Heb 7:5-10). He also points out the particularity of this priesthood, which is presented without genealogy and of which nothing is said as to its end, as an indication of the eternal character of the Messiah’s ministry (Heb 7: 3). In addition, the fact that this priesthood is constituted accompanied by an oath is highlighted, which did not happen with the Leviticus (Heb 7:21-22). The figure of M. is abundantly used in rabbinical and extra-biblical literature.
Source: Christian Bible Dictionary
tip, BIOG SACE REYE TYPE MAN HOAT
vet, = “king of justice”. King of Salem (probably Jerusalem, cf. Ps. 76:3) and priest of the Most High (Gen. 14:18). He went to meet Abraham, victorious in the battle of the kings who had taken Lot prisoner; he offered him bread and wine, and blessed him. For his share, the patriarch gave him a tithe of the spoils. The epistle to the Hebrews makes a remarkable typological application of this mysterious apparition. Aaron, with his successors, was an early figure of Christ, our High Priest, seen above all in his work of atonement (Lev. 16; Heb. 9:11-12:24). But since Aaron was sinful and mortal, his priesthood had to be transmitted with constant interruptions; on the other hand, he was insufficient, because he could not offer more than symbols (animal sacrifices) that represented the great sacrifice of the cross (Heb. 7:23, 27; 10: 1-4). The redeemer of the world, considered in his resurrection and his perpetual office, had to exercise a priesthood of a totally different order: that of Melchizedek. Indeed, Melchizedek was: (a) King and priest (Gen. 14:18), in the same way that Christ will be king and priest on his throne (Zech. 6: 12-13). (b) King of righteousness according to the meaning of his name, and King of Peace (Heb. 7:2), two terms that equally characterize the Messiah (Isa. 9:5; 11:5; 32:1; Jer. 23 :5-6; 72:1-3, 7). (c) Melchizedek is “without father or mother, without genealogy; that he has neither beginning of days nor end of life” (Heb. 7:3). Its beginning and its end are unknown; he does not figure in any Levitical genealogy, the only recognized one; it is even unknown who his father and mother were. In this, Melchizedek is the type of the eternal Christ, who suddenly appears in the midst of Israel without descending from Aaron and without belonging to the priestly tribe, and who by the power of his resurrection remains our high priest forever (Heb. 8: 13-16, 24: Jn. 1:1; 8:58; Rom. 6:9). (d) Unlike Aaron, it is by oath that God confers this priesthood directly on his Son, in the way that Melchizedek’s consecration was not done by the way established in Israel (Ps. 110: 4; Heb. 7 : 2-22). (e) Melchizedek offered Abraham bread and wine as a communion meal (Gen. 14:18). This brings the thought to the bread and wine of the meal that is taken in memory of the sacrifice already consummated on the cross (Luke 22:15-20). (f) Melchizedek received from Abraham (and consequently from Levi, who was yet to come from him) the tenth of everything. He shows himself superior to the patriarch, to whom he gave his blessing; therefore, his priesthood is of a higher order than that of the Levitical priests and that of Aaron (Heb. 7:4-10). Thus, the priesthood of Christ surpasses in excellence all the Jewish and human priesthoods (Heb. 7:26-28). It thus becomes the basis of the New Covenant, announced by the prophets and infinitely superior to the Old (Heb. 7:11-12, 22; 8:6-12). This type of Melchizedek thus extols the unique and totally effective and intransmissible ministry of the eternal Son of God. Therefore, the practice of the Church of Rome to apply to each of its priests the pronouncement: “You are a priest, after the order of Melchizedek” constitutes a serious error. It is evident that this claim is unfounded, since this priesthood of Christ is non-transferable (cf. the original Greek in Heb. 7:24, “aparabaton”, in the Greek-Spanish interlinear New Testament). In Christ, all believers are part of the royal priesthood in which He has seen fit to associate us (1 Pet. 2:5, 9-10; Rev. 1:5-6; 5:9-10). In contrast to the clear statements of Scripture, one can also mention the confusion into which Mormons have fallen, who also claim to perpetuate in their “Church of Latter-day Saints” not only the Melchizedek Priesthood, but together and in parallel with this also that of Aaron.
Source: New Illustrated Bible Dictionary
Character that appears in the story of Abraham, defined as “priest of the Most High God” and king of Salem (Jerusalem). He came out to bless him after the victory over the raiders. (Gen 14) Having offered in sacrifice “bread and wine”, Christian piety always saw him as a precedent of the Eucharist and therefore of the priesthood of Jesus.
However, in other texts of the New Testament, he is presented as a model of a free priesthood (Hebr. 5.6; 10.27) and therefore as a prototype of the priesthood of Jesus, and consequently of the priests of the New Testament. The author of the catechism or sermon on Hebrews, who writes for “Levitical priests” made Christians, insists that Jesus is a priest “after the order of Melchizedek.” Therefore they have nothing to do with Aaronic descent or dependence on the Jerusalem Temple.
There follows the natural consequence of…