Melchizedek, the Preincarnate Son of God

This article is part of a series on Old Testament Christophanies.  For important background information, see An Introduction to Old Testament Christophanies–with Justin Martyr.

The King of Righteousness

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There was a moment in time when the Son of God visited Abram that took place before most of the occasions covered in the previous articles in this series.  We only come to Genesis 14:18-20 now because the account is brief and best understood as one of the first places to record an Abrahamic Christophany (preceded solely by Genesis 12:7).  Reading about the visitations that followed has given us the broader context needed to help solve an enduring mystery.  Now many Godly men and women have disagreed for generations on whether or not this individual was really the preincarnate Messiah.  As you will see, a belief that He was divine, that He was actually Yahweh, dates back to at least the writing of the Dead Sea Scrolls.  And while sincere students of Scripture can disagree, it is my conviction that Melchizedek was in fact the Son of God.

Melchizedek means “king of righteousness.”  It may have well been the king’s title instead of his proper name.  It is true that theophoric names or titles were somewhat common in the ancient Near East, so some may understand this one to mean “my king is righteous.”  The writer of Hebrews, however, explicitly translates Melchizedek as “king of righteousness.”  When you see the word Melchizedek, try occasionally replacing it with king of righteousness in your mind.  This will help you see Melchizedek as the preincarnate Messiah.  And think about it; who other than Jesus could rightfully be called the king of righteousness?  Except for Jesus, no one is righteous, and all have sinned (Rom 3:10, 23).

The Priest-King of God Most High

As Abram was returning from his victory over the Mesopotamian kings, the king of Sodom went out to meet him in the valley of Shaveh (the King’s Valley)^[1] (v 17).  Then, the king of righteousness suddenly appeared:

And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; now he was a priest of God Most High. He blessed him and said,

“Blessed be Abram of God Most High,
Possessor of heaven and earth;
And blessed be God Most High,
Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.”

He gave him a tenth of all (Gen 14:18–20).

The next verse continues with Abram’s meeting with the king of Sodom (v. 21).  These three verses concerning Melchizedek’s appearance interrupt the natural flow of the narrative.  It is as if Melchizedek stepped into history to have a special visit with Abram.

Salem was an early name for Jerusalem (Ps 76:2).  Melchizedek was king of the same city that the Lord chose as His home, and where He will dwell forever (Ps 132:13–14).  Jesus referred to Himself when He called Jerusalem “the city of the great King” (Matt 5:35; cf. Ps 48:2).  He is the promised righteous King, who as Yahweh will reign from Jerusalem over all the earth (e.g., Jer 23:5­–6; 33:14­–16; Zech 14:9, 17).  To say that Melchizedek was the king of Salem doesn’t necessarily mean that He was physically ruling over a people there.  It could simply be a recognition of the Son of God’s rightful position as the king of Jerusalem.  Melchizedek is also the king of peace, for Salem means “peace” in Hebrew.  Jesus is the prophesied Prince of Peace (Isa 9:6).

Melchizedek was a priest of “God Most High,” translated from the Hebrew El Elyon.  He is the first priest mentioned in Scripture, and with him comes the first use of this exalted name for the Lord.  Abram quickly identified El Elyon as Yahweh (v. 22).  Melchizedek was no priest of a foreign god, but of the one true God, who is seated above the universe.  Jesus, the Son of God is our great high priest who has passed through the heavens (Heb 4:14).  Both Melchizedek and Jesus uniquely held the offices of king and priest.  The sharing of titles and roles is why so many have seen Melchizedek as the truest type of Christ, while others have seen him and Christ as one in the same.

Bread and wine were the common food and drink for royals and others in high society.  While they were apparently given to Abram and his men as refreshments, we shouldn’t overlook their greater significance.  Parties often enjoyed bread and wine together before entering into covenants in the ancient Near East.  And it wasn’t long after Abram’s meal with Melchizedek that the Lord appeared to seal the Abrahamic Covenant by passing through the bloody animal pieces (Gen 15).  Before Jesus sealed the New Covenant, the most important meal in history took place:

And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.”And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood . . .” (Luke 22:19–20).

The bread and wine of the Last Supper represented Jesus’ body and blood.  His blood, that would soon pour down the cross upon His death, ratified and sealed the New Covenant.  As often as we observe the Lord’s command to eat bread and drink wine in remembrance of Him, we proclaim His death until He comes again (1 Cor 11:23–26).  The Abrahamic Covenant’s inextricable relationship with the New Covenant includes their meals.  As the observance of the Lord’s Supper looks back in remembrance of Jesus’ death on the cross, Abram and Melchizedek’s meal looked forward to it.  And if Melchizedek was indeed a Christophany, then Abram too enjoyed communion with the Son of God.

As a priest, Melchizedek blessed Abram and God Most High.  The Lord was able to bless Abram because He was the possessor of all things.  Melchizedek proclaimed that it was God Most High who granted Abram his recent victory over the Mesopotamian kings.  After he was blessed, Abram did something remarkable: he paid a tithe to Melchizedek.  A tenth of all the goods won in battle were given over as an act of worship.

It is hard to argue that anyone in the Bible, aside from Jesus, is greater than Abraham.  And yet, by paying him a tithe, Abram acknowledged that Melchizedek was his superior.  As impressive as Melchizedek is described, if he was only a human priest-king—who was barely mentioned in the Old Testament—then it is difficult to understand how he is greater than the patriarch of nations and the father of the faithful.  However, if Melchizedek was the Son of God, then He is unquestionably superior.      

A Priest Forever

Melchizedek is only mentioned in two places in the Old Testament; in Genesis 14 and in Psalm 110.  Most of what we know about him comes from the New Testament, namely Hebrews chapters 5–7.  While the author of Hebrews covers the Genesis account, he was primarily concerned with Psalm 110:4.  The verse prophesies that the Messiah would be a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.  Melchizedek’s priestly order is central to the Epistle to the Hebrew’s overall teaching on Jesus as the perfect high priest. 

We begin in Hebrews 5, where Psalm 110:4 is quoted after Psalm 2:7:

So also Christ did not glorify Himself so as to become a high priest, but He who said to Him,

“You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You”;

 just as He says also in another passage,

“You are a priest forever
According to the order of Melchizedek” (Heb 5:5–6).

Both Psalm 2 and 110 are royal, messianic psalms.  Psalm 2 applies to David on one level, while being fulfilled by his descendant Jesus on another (see Acts 13:32–37).  Psalm 110 speaks of the Messiah as David’s descendant and Lord, a fact confirmed by Jesus Himself (Matt 22:41–45).  The psalm further prophesies that His authority and power as a king and priest will extend from Jerusalem.  It is of great interest that a verse related to the Messiah as a king and the Son of God was partnered with one related to the Messiah as a priest in the order of Melchizedek.  Jesus was only able to become a high priest, in the order of Melchizedek, because he was the begotten Son of God. 

Even though He was the Son of God, as a man Jesus learned obedience through His suffering.  And having been perfected in this way, He became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey Him.  Because of this, Jesus was appointed as a high priest according to the order of Melchizedek (vv. 7–10).  After mentioning Melchizedek again, the author made an intriguing statement:

Concerning him we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing (Heb 5:11).

The author continued to admonish his readers, saying that they should have been teachers by that point.  Instead, they needed to learn the elementary principles of God’s Word.  They were like infants who had to drink milk because they couldn’t digest solid foods (vv. 12–14).  And so they were exhorted to press on toward maturity (Heb 6:1).  The author had something to say about Melchizedek that would be difficult for his audience to handle.  Could it be that what he wanted to teach was that Melchizedek was Jesus in a preincarnate form?  But because his audience wasn’t mature enough to digest such a meaty teaching, he decided to help them in their understanding by instead comparing Melchizedek to Jesus?   

His Own Priesthood

Midway through Hebrews 6, the author prepared to return to the topic of Melchizedek by referring to when the Angel of the Lord called out to Abraham after he had passed his test of faith:

For when God made the promise to Abraham, since He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, saying, “I will surely bless you and I will surely multiply you” (Heb 6:13–14).

Remember that it was the Angel of the Lord, on behalf of the Godhead, who promised to bless and multiply Abraham (Gen 22:15–17).  The author, then, referred to a key example of the Son of God blessing Abraham before discussing Melchizedek blessing Abraham.  Perhaps he meant to imply that the same divine person blessed Abraham on both occasions.  Melchizedek’s appearance is very much like the Angel of the Lord’s appearances in the Old Testament. 

The author continued with an explanation that Abraham patiently waited and obtained the promise.  When men swear an oath, they do so by calling upon one greater than themselves. God bound Himself with an oath to give assurance that He would never change His mind.  His promise and His oath are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie.  We who have fled to Him for refuge should be encouraged to take hold of the hope set before us.  This hope is an anchor for our souls, leading us through the veil into God’s heavenly inner sanctuary (vv. 15–19).  Jesus has already passed through the veil as a forerunner for us, “having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek” (v. 20).  This final declaration of the chapter flows directly from the reason for why God swore an oath by Himself.  The larger point is this: As God swore by Himself, since He could swear by no one greater, so Jesus entered into His own priesthood since He could enter into none greater.  Put another way, the King of Righteousness entered into the priesthood of the King of Righteousness.  If Melchizedek was not the Son of God, then Jesus entered into the priesthood of His inferior.   

Like the Son of God

Hebrews 7 is structured as a juxtaposition of the priesthoods of Melchizedek and Jesus.  Whenever Jesus is compared to anyone else in the epistle, it is for the purpose of exalting Him as superior.  In contrast, when Jesus is compared to Melchizedek, it results in both being exalted.  This is apparent from the beginning, where Melchizedek’s brief visit with Abram was enough for the author to say that he was like the Son of God:

For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham as he was returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, to whom also Abraham apportioned a tenth part of all the spoils, was first of all, by the translation of his name, king of righteousness, and then also king of Salem, which is king of peace.Without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, he remains a priest perpetually (Heb 7:1–3).

The comment that Melchizedek has no genealogy is often used to govern the statements that he had no father and mother, and that he has no beginning or end of life.  In such interpretations, it is not that Melchizedek was really eternal, it is merely that his birth and death were never recorded.  But the absence of a recorded birth is not the same as always having existed, just as the absence of a recorded death is not the same as never dying.  The more natural way to read the text is to conclude that Melchizedek has no genealogical record because he has always existed and will always exist.  Now you may be concerned that Melchizedek having no father and mother means that he couldn’t be Jesus.  Remember though, these statements are made about Melchizedek when he visited Abram.  If he was a Christophany, then as the preincarnate Son of God, he wouldn’t have had a human father and mother.  On the other hand, if Melchizedek was said to have a human parent, then he couldn’t have been a Christophany.

Throughout the epistle, the author relentlessly teaches that God’s Son is superior to the angels, Moses, the prophets, and the Levitical priests.  And yet with Melchizedek, we are told that the he is “like the Son of God.”  Translated another way, Melchizedek resembles the Son of God.  The Son of God is a member of the Godhead; He is Yahweh, the Lord.  Moses and the sons of Israel sang a song of praise to the Lord, asking, “Who is like You among the gods, O Lord?  Who is like You, majestic in holiness, Awesome in praises, working wonders?” (Exod 15:11).  The rhetorical question who is like the Lord? is repeated several times throughout the Old Testament.  The answer is always the same: there is no one.  So the only way that Melchizedek could be like the Son of God is if he is the Son of God.

Properly understood, the word “like” in Hebrews 7:3 doesn’t negate the notion that Melchizedek is a Christophany; it actually supports it.  When the apostle John beheld the Patmos Christophany, he wrote that he saw “one like the Son of Man” (Rev 1:13).  This identified the Christophany as the “One like a Son of Man” in Daniel 7:13–14.  Jesus combined this very passage with Psalm 110—the Melchizedek psalm no less, to proclaim that He would sit in glory at the right hand of God (Matt 26:64).  For Son of Man is a divine, messianic title (Acts 7:55­–56), and Jesus used it more than any other to refer to Himself.  When John said that he saw one “like” the Son of Man, it meant that he beheld Jesus, though in a different form than how He appeared as a man during the First Coming.  The author of Hebrews apparently meant something similar by using the word translated as “like” in English.  Melchizedek was the Son of God, though in a different form than how He appeared after the incarnation. 

Two different Greek words were translated as “like” in Hebrews 7:3 and in Revelation 1:13 (aphomoioo and homoios respectively).  As is often the case, two different authors chose different words with similar meanings.  However, the Greek aphomoioo (af-om-oy-o’-o) in Hebrews 7:3 appears nowhere else in the New Testament.  The author used a unique word to make a specific point.  The singular use of aphomoioo makes articulating a precise definition problematic.  In general though, it conveys the idea of one thing expressing itself in or as another.  In the case of Hebrews 7:3, this would mean that the Melchizedek is an expression of the Son of God.      

Like Jesus, Melchizedek is the king of righteousness and the king of peace.  Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end (Rev 1:8; 22:13).  Like Him, Melchizedek has no beginning or end of days.  It is because Melchizedek is like the Son of God that he can remain a priest forever.  Jesus is a priest forever because He is the Son of God (Heb 5:5–6).  This leaves us with only two options: either there are two eternal priests in the same order or just one eternal high priest who visited Abram and now sits at the right hand of God. 

Greater than Abraham

The reader was asked to consider how great Melchizedek was by comparing him to Abraham.  The Levities, who descend from Abraham, were required by the Law to collect a tithe from the people.  Melchizedek, who was not a Levite, collected a tithe from Abraham.  And Melchizedek blessed Abraham, the one who had been given the promises of God (vv. 4–6).  These facts led to an inescapable conclusion:

But without any dispute the lesser is blessed by the greater. In this case mortal men receive tithes, but in that case one receives them, of whom it is witnessed that he lives on (Heb 7:7–8).

Again, it is a heavy thing to say that anyone is greater than he who entered into a covenant with God, from which blessings and redemption for the world would ultimately flow.  The Levites received tithes as mortal men, while Melchizedek received tithes as an immortal.  It isn’t just his priesthood that lives on, but Melchizedek himself. 

Because Levi is a descendant of Abraham, in a manner of speaking even he paid tithes to Melchizedek (vv. 9–10).  This established Melchizedek and his priesthood, and therefore Jesus and his priesthood, as superior to the Levitical priesthood.  The Levitical priesthood couldn’t achieve the perfection that God intended, requiring another priest to arise in the order of Melchizedek.  Such a change in the priesthood necessitated a change in the law.  Since Jesus is a descendant of Judah, He wouldn’t have been eligible for the priesthood according to the Mosaic Covenant (vv. 11–14). 

The Likeness of Melchizedek

In the first half of Hebrews 7, Melchizedek is likened to the Son of God.  In the second half, Jesus is likened to Melchizedek:

And this is clearer still, if another priest arises according to the likeness of Melchizedek, who has become such not on the basis of a law of physical requirement, but according to the power of an indestructible life (Heb 7:15–16). 

Clearer still is that the law and the priesthood have been changed.  It was never God’s plan for the Messiah to function as a Levitical priest.  The Son of God is beyond the priestly order determined by one’s bloodline.  An indestructible life is one uncorrupted by sin (Rom 5:12; 6:23), and Jesus proved His through the resurrection.  Jesus being a priest according to Melchizedek’s likeness means that Melchizedek too has just such an indestructible life. 

The author went on to directly quote from Psalm 110:4 two more times.  By proving Himself to be eternal, Jesus revealed that He was qualified to be in Melchizedek’s order, fulfilling Psalm 110:4 (v. 17).  The Levitical priesthood couldn’t truly atone for sin, so it was replaced by a perfect priest who is able to bring the saints into an intimate relationship with God.  The Messiah’s priesthood is based on an oath from the Lord Himself, as prophesied in Psalm 110:4.  The basis for the Levitical priesthood lacks an oath from God, making it strictly inferior.  Jesus’ superior priesthood makes Him the guarantee of a better covenant (vv. 18–22).  

There had to be numerous Levitical priests over the centuries because they kept dying and needed to be replaced.  In contrast, because Jesus is eternal He holds his priesthood permanently.  Jesus is able to save forever because He will always live to make intercession for those who come to God through Him (vv. 23–25).  Many mortal priests were contrasted with just one immortal priest in the order of Melchizedek.    

The chapter concludes with a summary on the superiority of Jesus as high priest:

For it was fitting for us to have such a high priest, holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens;who does not need daily, like those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for His own sins and then for the sins of the people, because this He did once for all when He offered up Himself. For the Law appoints men as high priests who are weak, but the word of the oath, which came after the Law, appoints a Son, made perfect forever (Heb 7:26–28). 

This soaring statement on the work and person of our high priest continues the epistle’s theme of the supremacy of God’s Son.  The author wouldn’t have diminished Jesus by likening Him to a created being.  So taking his words to mean that the priesthood of the eternal Son of God is based on a mortal man—who only seemed to continue living because there is no record of his death—is wholly inadequate, if not inappropriate.  Mere men make for weak priests, unable to permanently pay for sins.  Jesus’ appointment to the priesthood superseded the fallible Levitical priesthood.  Since no priest could ever be greater than the Son of God, He established His own priesthood.  He did so as Melchizedek, the King of Righteousness.       

Shem?

The sages and later authors of rabbinic literature identified Melchizedek as Shem, son of Noah.^[2]  The theory is rooted in Shem inheriting the righteousness of his father (Gen 6:9), and that he still would have been alive to meet Abram according to Genesis 11 in the Masoretic Text.  Now the Septuagint (the Greek Old Testament, translated in the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC) differs significantly with the Masoretic Text on how long the patriarchs in Genesis lived.  In Genesis 11, the Septuagint records most of the fathers being fifty or 100 years older when they each gave birth to their first son.  The chronology of the Masoretic Text has Shem living until after the birth of Jacob, while the chronology of the Septuagint has Shem dying hundreds of years before Abram was even born.  Regardless, whether the Septuagint is superior because it was translated from an earlier Hebrew text or whether the Masoretic text is correct shouldn’t matter to Christians on the question of whether Shem was Melchizedek.  Hebrews 7:3 plainly states that Melchizedek is, “Without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life . . .”  Not only is Shem’s extensive lineage recorded in Genesis, but he has one of the most famous fathers in history: Noah.  He has an even more famous descendant in Jesus (Luke 3:36).  Shem’s birth and death are recorded in Genesis 11:10–11.  At 100 years of age, Shem fathered Arpachshad, and then he lived for another 500 years.  Shem had a father and mother, a genealogy, and a beginning of days and end of life.  He most certainly wasn’t Melchizedek. 

The claim that Melchizedek was Shem doesn’t just contradict Hebrews 7, it undermines the chapter’s argument for Jesus’s priesthood.  Abraham, and thus the Levites, descended directly from Shem (Gen 11:10, 26).  If Melchizedek was Shem, then the priestly bloodline through the tribe of Levi could be understood as flowing from Melchizedek.  Indeed, the rabbis taught that Shem passed his high priestly garments, representing the priesthood, to Abram.^[3]  These were the same skin garments made by the Lord for Adam (Gen 3:21).  Adam became the first priest in that he offered sacrifices to the Lord.  He passed his garments on to Seth, who passed them to Methuselah, who passed them to Noah, and he passed them to Shem.^[4]  Shem passing the garments to Abram meant that they, and the priestly office, would ultimately pass to Levi. 

By identifying him as Shem, Melchizedek is made into a proto-Levitical priest.  The author of Hebrews couldn’t have used this version of Melchizedek to argue for Jesus being made a priest independent of the Levitical system.  Furthermore, Jesus’ priesthood is based on His indestructible life as the Son of God.  If Melchizedek was Shem, then he was a sinful and mortal man like the Levitical priests, and he couldn’t have served as the Old Testament basis of Jesus’ priesthood.  

If you don’t hold to the authority of the Epistle to the Hebrews, or are ignorant of its content, then it is understandable that you may believe that Melchizedek was Shem.  But if you hold to the epistle as being the inspired Word of God, then Melchizedek cannot possibly be Shem. 

The Melchizedek Scroll

Dead Sea Scroll 11Q13, also referred to as 11QMelch or the Melchizedek Scroll, is a fragmented manuscript found among the Dead Sea Scrolls at Qumran in 1956.  Composed circa 120 BC, the scroll concerns Melchizedek’s role in an end-times year of jubilee.  Melchizedek is presented as no less than the divine Messiah; he is both a messenger of Yahweh and Yahweh Himself.   

The jubilee was the fiftieth year following seven cycles of sabbatical years (forty-nine years).  It was a time of celebration where all debts were to be forgiven, slaves freed, and land returned to original owners.  Both the people and the land were supposed to rest for the year.  The jubilee year would begin on the Day of Atonement with the blowing of a ram’s horn (Lev 25).^[5]  Michael Wise, one of the foremost Dead Sea Scrolls translators, found that the author of the Melchizedek scroll

understands the jubilee-year remission of debts as referring not merely to prosaic matters of money, but to the forgiveness of sin.  The author declares that the agent of this salvation is to be none other than Melchizedek, a mysterious figure referenced only twice in the [Hebrew] Bible, in Genesis 14 and Psalm 110.  For our author, Melchizedek is an enormously exalted divine being to whom are applied names generally reserved for God alone; the Hebrew names el and elohim.  In the author’s citation of Isaiah 61:2, which speaks of “the year of the Lord’s favor,” Melchizedek is substituted even for this most holy name of Israel’s God.  Yet more remarkably, Melchizedek is said to atone for the sins of the righteous and to execute judgment upon the wicked—actions usually associated with God Himself.  By the power of Melchizedek, dominion on earth shall pass from Satan (here called Belial) to the righteous Sons of Light.^[6] 

Before we look at the scroll’s text, be aware that it is heavily damaged.  Only column 2 is intact enough to provide any useful information.  The translator used brackets to identify added text (based on educated guesses), and he used ellipses to represent missing sections.  As you’ll see, Wise wasn’t exaggerating: 

This word [will thus co]me in the first week of the jubilee period that follows ni[ne j]ubilee periods.  Then the “D[ay of Atone]ment” shall follow at the e[nd of] the tenth [ju]bilee period, when he shall atone for all the Sons of [Light] and the peopl[e who are pre]destined to Mel[chi]zedek. [. . .] upo[n the]m [. . .]  For this is the time decreed for “the year of Melchiz[edek]’s favor” (Isa. 61:2, modified) and for [his] hos[ts, together] with the holy ones of God, for a kingdom of judgment . . .^[7]

This section follows a teaching on the jubilee year being prophetically fulfilled in the Last Days.  The requirements of the jubilee, as found in Leviticus 25:13 and in Deuteronomy 15:2, are interpreted to apply to the captives in Isaiah 61:1.  Melchizedek is said to proclaim to them the jubilee, thereby releasing the captives from their debt of sins.^[8]  The proclamation will occur during the tenth jubilee period.  Jubilee periods are used in several of the scrolls to mark the passage of time.  Ten jubilee periods (490 years) are used here as an alternate way to calculate the seventy weeks of years (490 years) in Daniel 9:24.  The “end of sin” and the “atonement for iniquity” prophesied in Daniel 9:24 is, then, brought about by Melchizedek on a Day of Atonement following the tenth jubilee year.  This would fulfill Isaiah 61:2, a passage where “the year of Yahweh’s favor” was modified to read, “the year of Melchizedek’s favor.”  It would have been unthinkable for the conservative Jewish authors of the scrolls to replace the most holy name of Yahweh with Melchizedek’s unless they believed that Melchizedek was another name for Yahweh.

Another section from the scroll identifies Melchizedek as the Messiah from Daniel 9:

And “the messenger” is the Anointed of the Spir[it,] of whom Dan[iel] spoke, [“After the sixty-two weeks, an Anointed One shall be cut off” (Dan. 9:26).  The “messenger who brings] good news, who announ[ces salvation”] is the one of whom it is wri[tt]en, [“to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, the day of vengeance of our God;] to comfo[rt all who mourn” (Isa. 61:2).^[9]

As the preacher who was to proclaim the jubilee to the captives, Melchizedek is understood to be the messenger who “brings good news” and “announces salvation” from Isaiah 52:7.^[10]  Here, he is further said to be the Anointed of the Spirit: the Messiah.  The Messiah from Daniel 9:25–26 is prophesied to be “cut off,” meaning that He would be killed.  The citation of this passage appears to be for the purpose of connecting the Messiah’s death with the atonement He would provide.  Despite being cut off, Melchizedek was to bring a kingdom of judgement, where dominion on earth would pass from Satan and return to the “Sons of Light” (the righteous people of God).^[11]    

The description of Melchizedek’s future role is analogous to the ministry of Jesus.  Jesus read Isaiah 61:1 and the first line of verse 2 aloud in the synagogue in Nazareth.  He then identified Himself as the preacher from the passage by declaring, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing” (Luke 4:16–21).  Jesus showed Himself to be the Messiah from Daniel 9:25–26 when He died on the cross.  His death paid the price for our sins (Eph 1:7).  When Jesus returns, Satan will be bound and the saints will rule with Christ (Rev 5:9–10; 20:1–6).  Perhaps most significantly, Melchizedek is portrayed as Yahweh.  As the Son of God, Jesus is Yahweh (John 8:58). 

While the Melchizedek Scroll is not inspired Scripture, it does give us insight into Jewish views on Melchizedek from a time leading up to the New Testament.  Wise concluded that the

figure of Melchizedek as portrayed here is strikingly reminiscent of the New Testament reference to a heavenly figure of that name, a high priest described as follows: “without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God, he remains a priest forever” (Heb. 7:3).  Clearly Melchizedek was a focus of powerful salvific imagery among various Jewish groups in the period of the scrolls.^[12] 

Melchizedek, the Logos

Writing in the early 1st century AD, Philo recognized Melchizedek as the Logos.  As Melchizedek, the Logos is identified as a king in contradistinction to a tyrant.  A king interprets the law, whereas a tyrant is lawless.  “The tyrannical mind imposes violence and mischievous commands,” whereas the kingly mind persuades and guides as “right reason” (logos).  The kingly mind brought forth bread “full of cheerfulness and joy” and wine to bring “divine intoxication, more sober than sobriety itself.”[13]

While Philo’s allegorical treatment on the Logos as a king is intriguing, his reason for why the Logos was a priest is of special interest:  “For reason [logos] is a priest, having, as its inheritance the true God, and entertaining lofty and sublime and magnificent ideas about him . . .”[14]  Concerning this, Fred Horton explained that, “The Logos is the mind of God in which the pattern of all the visible world is conceived.  As such, the Logos has no visible or sensible antecedents . . . Melchizedek’s lack of antecedents in the priest-kingship, i.e. the fact that his priesthood is self-tutored, lends itself to Philo’s interpretation of Melchizedek as the Logos . . .”[15]  This is essentially the same argument made in Hebrews 7 for Jesus’ priesthood.  No line of priests led to Jesus; He was made a priest by virtue of being the Son of God.  Jesus has a closer connection to God than any other priest; He is the Logos, both God and the expression of God. 

Do you Recognize Him?

St. Ambrose (ca. 340–397 AD) is one of the four Latin Doctors of the Church.  Becoming bishop of Milan in 374, Ambrose is known for being a staunch defender of the divinity of Christ.  He was highly esteemed by several other church leaders, including his contemporary Augustine of Hippo.  And it is traditionally believed that Ambrose baptized Augustine. 

In On the Mysteries, a treatise on the rites and meaning of the sacraments, Ambrose looked to Melchizedek as a key figure in his teaching on the Eucharist.  To Ambrose, the elements of the Lord’s Supper were ancient; Melchizedek brought them forth and Abraham received them.[16]  Ambrose further taught that Melchizedek is

introduced without father, without mother, having neither beginning of days, nor ending, but like the Son of God, of Whom Paul says to the Hebrews: “that He remaineth a priest for ever,” Who in the Latin version is called King of righteousness and King of peace.[17]

Then, Ambrose posed a timeless question:

Do you recognize Who that is?  Can a man be king of righteousness, when himself he can hardly be righteous?  Can he be king of peace, when he can hardly be peaceable?  He it is Who is without mother according to His Godhead, for He was begotten of God the Father, of one substance with the Father; without a father according to His incarnation, for He was born of a Virgin; having neither beginning nor end, for He is the beginning and end of all things, the first and the last.  The sacrament, then, which you received is the gift not of man but of God, brought forth by Him Who blessed Abraham the father of faith, whose grace and deeds we admire.[18] 

Each of us should answer Ambrose’s question for ourselves.  As for me, I recognize Melchizedek as the Son of God. 

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[1] Perhaps the Kidron Valley to the east of Jerusalem, or another nearby valley. 

[2] The most critical sources include Targum Pseudo-Jonathan and the Jerusalem Targum on Genesis 14:18; b. Nedarim 32b; Genesis Rabbah 56:10; Leviticus Rabbah 25:6; Numbers Rabbah 4:8.

[3] Numbers Rabbah 4:8.

[4] Ibid.

[5] The word for jubilee in Hebrew is yowbel, meaning “ram’s horn.”

[6] Wise et al., Dead Sea Scrolls, 591.

[7] 11Q13 2:6b–9a.

[8] 11Q13 2:2–6a.

[9] 11Q13 2:18–20a.

[10] 11Q13 2:14b–16.

[11] 11Q13 2:22–23a.

[12] Wise et al., Dead Sea Scrolls, 591.

[13] Philo, Legum Allegoriae 3.79–82.

[14] Philo, Legum Allegoriae 3.82.

[15] Horton, The Melchizedek Tradition, 59–60.

[16] Ambrose, On the Mysteries 8.45.

[17] Ibid.

[18] Ambrose, On the Mysteries 8.46.