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Person · Canaan

Melchizedek

Priest living at the time of the Patriarchs

Melchizedek, king of Salem and priest of God Most High, who blessed Abraham.

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Also known as Melchisedec

Melchizedek was the king of Salem and a priest of God Most High (Gen.14.18). He blessed Abraham and received a tithe from him after Abraham's victory over Chedorlaomer and his allies. Melchizedek brought out bread and wine, demonstrating his priestly role. The Psalms refer to the Messiah as a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek (Psa.110.4), indicating that Melchizedek's priesthood was seen as a type or foreshadowing of Christ's eternal priesthood. The book of Hebrews expands on this concept, presenting Jesus as a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek (Heb.5.6,10; 6.20; 7.1,10,11,15,17,21). Melchizedek's unique priesthood, which combined royalty and priestly service to God Most High, is seen as a precedent for Jesus' eternal priesthood and kingship.

Connections

Part of: The patriarchal families

Melchizedek and Abraham

RoleDebated

After the rescue of Lot, Melchizedek, king of Salem and priest of God Most High, blessed Abraham, who gave him a tenth. Psalm 110 makes the order of Melchizedek a model for the Davidic king-priest; Hebrews 7 builds on it. Who Melchizedek was is debated.

MelchizedekA priest/kingAbrahamSon of Terah
Where the text shows it: Gen 14:18-20 — Melchizedek blesses Abraham; Abraham gives a tenthPs 110:4 — "A priest forever after the order of Melchizedek"Heb 7:1-3 — Hebrews' reading of Melchizedek
Ways people read this (3)
  • Historical king of Salem (likely Jerusalem), a Canaanite priest-king who worshipped the one God; Hebrews uses him typologically.
  • Some Jewish traditions (including rabbinic sources) identify him with Shem.
  • Some Christian interpreters see a pre-incarnate appearance of the Son; others read Hebrews 7 as typology rather than identity.

Sources: Gen 14:18-20 · Ps 110:4 · Heb 7:1-3

More background: search Wikipedia ↗

Bible dictionary

Melchizedek Easton Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897)

King of righteousness, the king of Salem (q.v.). All we know of him is recorded in Gen. 14:18-20. He is subsequently mentioned only once in the Old Testament, in Ps. 110:4. The typical significance of his history is set forth in detail in the Epistle to the Hebrews, ch. 7. The apostle there points out the superiority of his priesthood to that of Aaron in these several respects, (1) Even Abraham paid him tithes; (2) he blessed Abraham; (3) he is the type of a Priest who lives for ever; (4) Levi, yet unborn, paid him tithes in the person of Abraham; (5) the permanence of his priesthood in Christ implied the abrogation of the Levitical system; (6) he was made priest not without an oath; and (7) his priesthood can neither be transmitted nor interrupted by death: “this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood.” The question as to who this mysterious personage was has given rise to a great deal of modern speculation. It is an old tradition among the Jews that he was Shem, the son of Noah, who may have survived to this time. Melchizedek was a Canaanitish prince, a worshipper of the true God, and in his peculiar history and character an instructive type of our Lord, the great High Priest (Heb. 5:6, 7; 6:20). One of the Amarna tablets is from Ebed-Tob, king of Jerusalem, the successor of Melchizedek, in which he claims the very attributes and dignity given to Melchizedek in the Epistle to the Hebrews.

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Melchizedek Smith Smith’s Bible Dictionary (1863)

(king of righteousness), king of Salem and priest of the most high God, who met Abram in the valley of Shaveh, which is the king’s valley, bought out bread and wine, blessed him, and received tithes from him. (Genesis 14:18-20) The other places in which Melchizedek is mentioned are (Psalms 110:4) where Messiah is described as a priest forever, “after the order of Melchizedek,” and (Hebrews 5:1; Hebrews 6:1; Hebrews 7:1) ... where these two passages of the Old Testament are quoted, and the typical relation of Melchizedek to our Lord is stated at great length. There is something surprising and mysterious in the first appearance of Melchizedek, and in the subsequent reference to him. Bearing a title which Jews in after ages would recognize as designating their own sovereign, bearing gifts which recall to Christians the Lord’s Supper, this Canaanite crosses for a moment the path of Abram, and is unhesitatingly recognized as a person of higher spiritual rank than the friend of God. Disappearing as suddenly as he came, he is lost to the sacred writings for a thousand years. Jewish tradition pronounces Melchizedek to be a survivor of the deluge, the patriarch Shem. The way in which he is mentioned in Genesis would rather lead to the inference that Melchizedek was of one blood with the children of Ham, among whom he lived, chief (like the king od Sodom) of a settled Canaanitish tribe. The “order of Melchizedek,” in (Psalms 110:4) is explained to mean “manner” = likeness in official dignity = a king and priest. The relation between Melchizedek and Christ as type and antitype is made in the Epistle to the Hebrews to consist in the following particulars: Each was a priest, (1) not of the Levitical tribe; (2) superior to Abraham; (3) whose beginning and end are unknown; (4) who is…

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Melchizedek Hitchcock Hitchcock’s Bible Names Dictionary (1869)

king of justice

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Melchizedek Hastings Hastings’ Dictionary of the Bible (1898)

MELCHIZ'EDEK, or MELCHIS'EDEC, the Greek form under which the name occurs in the N.T. (kinq of righteousness), is mentioned in Gen 14:18-20 as king of Salem and priest of the Most High God, meeting Abram in the valley of Shaveh, bringing out bread and wine to him, blessing him, and receiving tithes from him; in Ps 110:4, where Messiah is described as a priest "after the order of Melchizedek ;" and finally, in Heb 5:6-7, where the typical relations between Melchizedek and Christ are elaborately defined, both being priests without belonging to the Levitical tribe, superior to Abram, of unknown beginning and end, and kings of righteousness and peace. The short but impressive apparition of Melchizedek in Genesis, and the striking though mystical applications made of this apparition in the Psalms and the Epistle to the Hebrews, have given rise to various interpretations. One Jewish tradition considers him to be a survivor of the Deluge, the patriarch Shem, and thus entitled by his very age to bless the father of the faithful, and by his position as ruler of Canaan to confer his rights to Abram. Another tradition, equally old, but not so widely accepted, considers him to be an angel, the Son of God in human form, the Messiah. Modern scholars, arguing back from the expositions given in the Epistle to the Hebrews, consider him to be a descendant of Ham, living among and ruling his own kin; but, as Balaam was a prophet, so Melchizedek was a priest, among the heathens, constituted by God himself, and given a title above that of the ordinary patriarchal priesthood, even above that of Abram.

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Melchizedek Schaff Schaff’s Dictionary of the Bible

MELCHIZ'EDEK, or MELCHIS'EDEC, the Greek form under which the name occurs in the N.T. (kinq of righteousness), is mentioned in Gen 14:18-20 as king of Salem and priest of the Most High God, meeting Abram in the valley of Shaveh, bringing out bread and wine to him, blessing him, and receiving tithes from him; in Ps 110:4, where Messiah is described as a priest "after the order of Melchizedek ;" and finally, in Heb 5:6-7, where the typical relations between Melchizedek and Christ are elaborately defined, both being priests without belonging to the Levitical tribe, superior to Abram, of unknown beginning and end, and kings of righteousness and peace. The short

but impressive apparition of Melchizedek in Genesis, and the striking though mystical applications made of this apparition in the Psalms and the Epistle to the Hebrews, have given rise to various interpretations. One Jewish tradition considers him to be a survivor of the Deluge, the patriarch Shem, and thus entitled by his very age to bless the father of the faithful, and by his position as ruler of Canaan to confer his rights to Abram. Another tradition, equally old, but not so widely accepted, considers him to be an angel, the Son of God in human form, the Messiah. Modern scholars, arguing back from the expositions given in the Epistle to the Hebrews, consider him to be a descendant of Ham, living among and ruling his own kin; but, as Balaam was a prophet, so Melchizedek was a priest, among the heathens, constituted by God himself, and given a title above that of the ordinary patriarchal priesthood, even above that of Abram.

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Easton (1897), Smith (1863), Hitchcock (1869), Hastings (1898) and Schaff are in the public domain. Parsed text: neuu-org/bible-dictionary-dataset (CC BY 4.0). Headwords and whitespace normalised for this site.

Where Melchizedek appears

11 verses in 3 books · English text: BSB (change it from the menu at the top) · Strong’s H4442

Genesis1
Psalms1
Hebrews9

Names, family links and references: STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House Cambridge, CC BY 4.0). Short descriptions were drafted with AI assistance by STEPBible. Family links follow STEPBible’s scholarly decisions where genealogies are ambiguous.