Thread: For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God
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For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God
Posted : 27 Nov, 2013 05:26 AM
Hebrews 7 (NKJV)
The King of Righteousness
7 For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, 2 to whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all, first being translated �king of righteousness,� and then also king of Salem, meaning �king of peace,� 3 without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, remains a priest continually.
4 Now consider how great this man was, to whom even the patriarch Abraham gave a tenth of the spoils. 5 And indeed those who are of the sons of Levi, who receive the priesthood, have a commandment to receive tithes from the people according to the law, that is, from their brethren, though they have come from the loins of Abraham; 6 but he whose genealogy is not derived from them received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises. 7 Now beyond all contradiction the lesser is blessed by the better. 8 Here mortal men receive tithes, but there he receives them, of whom it is witnessed that he lives. 9 Even Levi, who receives tithes, paid tithes through Abraham, so to speak, 10 for he was still in the loins of his father when Melchizedek met him.
Need for a New Priesthood
11 Therefore, if perfection were through the Levitical priesthood (for under it the people received the law), what further need was there that another priest should rise according to the order of Melchizedek, and not be called according to the order of Aaron? 12 For the priesthood being changed, of necessity there is also a change of the law. 13 For He of whom these things are spoken belongs to another tribe, from which no man has officiated at the altar.
14 For it is evident that our Lord arose from Judah, of which tribe Moses spoke nothing concerning priesthood.[a] 15 And it is yet far more evident if, in the likeness of Melchizedek, there arises another priest 16 who has come, not according to the law of a fleshly commandment, but according to the power of an endless life. 17 For He testifies:[b]
�You are a priest forever
According to the order of Melchizedek.�[c]
18 For on the one hand there is an annulling of the former commandment because of its weakness and unprofitableness, 19 for the law made nothing perfect; on the other hand, there is the bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God.
Greatness of the New Priest
20 And inasmuch as He was not made priest without an oath 21 (for they have become priests without an oath, but He with an oath by Him who said to Him:
�The Lord has sworn
And will not relent,
�You are a priest forever[d]
According to the order of Melchizedek��),[e]
22 by so much more Jesus has become a surety of a better covenant.
23 Also there were many priests, because they were prevented by death from continuing. 24 But He, because He continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood. 25 Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.
26 For such a High Priest was fitting for us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and has become higher than the heavens; 27 who does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the people�s, for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself. 28 For the law appoints as high priests men who have weakness, but the word of the oath, which came after the law, appoints the Son who has been perfected forever.
For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God
Posted : 27 Nov, 2013 06:45 PM
Hebrews is the GREATEST NT BOOK� No matter how hard I tried I just didn�t get the NT until I read Hebrews and then I understood how He fits Torah. To me personaly the NT and Y-shua would seem like made up �Christian� stories if it wasn�t for Hebrews�. G-d in His wisdom kept the author from being unknown�.
From a Jews perspective�. Not Messianic but explains why this is an important passage especially in the time it was written:
Question:
In this week's Torah portion, after Abraham's victorious return from battle, we read:"Melchizedek the king of Salem brought out bread and wine, and he was a priest to the Most High God. And [Melchizedek] blessed him, and he said, "Blessed be Abram to the Most High God�Who possesses heaven and earth�and blessed be the Most High God, Who has delivered your adversaries into your hand." And [Abram] gave him a tithe from all."1
Who was this Melchizedek? What sort of priest was he, and why did Abraham give him a tithe?
Response:
Taken alone, this tiny anecdote does indeed seem strange. The Torah tells us nothing else about this man and his relationship to Abraham.
The ancient Targumim (Aramaic interpretive translations) identify Melchizedek as Shem�son of Noah. Shem was one of the links in the chain who transmitted the G‑dly traditions that originated with Adam. These traditions were carefully handed down from generation to generation, and Shem�who headed an academy�was a key conductor of these teachings. The Midrash tells us that he was so perfect and so spiritually advanced that he was born circumcised.2
So why did the priesthood pass from him to Abraham's children? The Talmud explains that this happened as a result of his having blessed Abraham before blessing G‑d in the verses above. This is reflected in the only other place in Scripture where Melchizedek is mentioned: in Psalms 110:4, where we read, ". . . you are a priest forever because of the speech of Melchizedek." Because of Melchizedek's ill-chosen speech, the priesthood was taken from him and given to the seed of Abraham forever.3
FOOTNOTES
1.
Genesis 14:18-20.
2.
Bereishit Rabbah 43:6.
3.
Talmud, Nedarim 32b.
At first glance it seems problematic to say that the priesthood was taken from the progeny of Shem and given to the seed of Abraham, as Abraham himself was a grandson of Shem.
Tosafot offers two possible explanations: a. The priesthood was taken from the entire clan of Shem and became the exclusive privilege of Abraham�s seed. b. Natural progression would have conferred Shem�s status on his firstborn descendants�not Abraham. Thus, it was only because of this encounter that the priesthood was given to Abraham specifically.
RaN explains that the intent of the Talmud here is that the priesthood of Abraham�s seed was now only by merit of the righteous Abraham and not due to their relation to Shem�which is why they are the only descendants of Shem deemed worthy of honor.
