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Melchizedek is one of the most intriguing characters the Bible says almost nothing about. But that doesn’t stop people from having lots to say about this character. Being a mysterious Bible figure, he naturally attracts a lot of speculation, which ends up spreading some extra-biblical ideas (and doctrines).

 

In Part 1 of this blog series, we analyzed forensically the identity and location of the biblical Salem. In the second part of this blog series, we will explore who Melchizedek might have been.

 

Jewish Teachings on Melchizedek

To the Hellenized Jews of Alexandria, Melchizedek appealed with especial force as a type of the monotheist of the pre-Abrahamic time or of non-Jewish race, like Enoch. They placed him in the same category with Elijah, Messiah ben Joseph, and Messiah ben David.

 

Rabbinic literature unanimously identified Melchizedek as Shem—son of Noah. According to them, Shem was one of the links in the chain who transmitted the Godly traditions (role of the priesthood) that originated with Adam. They tell us that Shem—who headed an academy—was a key conductor of these teachings. Assuming the premise that Melchizedek was Shem, he would have been 465 years old at the time and Abram was 75 years of age. So why did the priesthood pass from Melchizedek to Abraham's children?The Talmud explains that this happened as a result of his having blessed Abraham before blessing Yah in these verses. Because of Melchizedek's ill-chosen speech, the priesthood was taken from him and given to the seed of Abraham forever.

 

The Ethiopian Book of Adam and Eve includes a story of Melchizedek that presents a strange combination of Jewish and Egyptian elements emanating from a sect afterward known as the Melchizedekites.

 

Christian Teachings on Melchizedek

Elevated to a status of divinity by the author of Hebrews, Melchizedek is explicitly associated with the "eternal priesthood" of the Son of God. The character of Melchizedek as being a prefiguration or prototype of the Christ has varied between Christian denominations. Some, such as the Pelagians, saw in Melchizedek merely a man who lived a perfect life. 

 

Traditional Protestant Christian denominations teach that Melchizedek was a historical figure and an archetype of Christ. Melchizedek's priesthood existed prior to and was superior to the work of the Levitical priests. It is an office that applies only to Yeshua, who thus plays the ultimate high priestly role and atones for our sins, allowing the people to come face to face with God.

 

A side note: Joseph Smith (LDS Church) appointed his male followers to priesthoods, named for the biblical figures Melchizedek and Aaron, that were overseen by the office of High Priest. These priesthoods are laid out by Smith in Doctrine and Covenants.

 

Melchizedek in the Hebrew Bible

Here are the two quotes in the Hebrew Bible that mention the name ‘Melchizedek’:

Genesis 14:18-23 And Malchi-zedek, the king of Salem, brought out bread and wine; He was the priest of El Elyon. And he blessed him and said,“Blessed be Abram by El Elyon, Owner/Maker of heaven and earth. And blessed be El Elyon who delivered your enemies into your hand.”And he [Abram] gave to him a tenth of everything [tithe]. Lexham English Bible (LEB)

 

Psalms 110:1-7  Says Yahweh, to my lord/master - “Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.” Yahweh will send out your mighty scepter from Zion; subjugate in the midst of your enemies.  Your people will offer themselves willingly in the day of your warfare. In adornments of holiness, from the womb you have been seeking earnestly [or, mercy you have been seeking earnestly]; to you, the dew of your youth. Yahweh has sworn and He will not change His mind, “You are a priest forever, I promise, Malchi-zedek [king of rightousness].” Adonai is at your right hand, crushed kings on the day of His wrath. He will judge among the nations, He will fill them with corpses; He will crush a head on a great [or fruitful] land; from the brook on the way he will drink; therefore he will lift up head. [literal translation by the author]

 

A few reflections on the original Hebrew text:

• For your convenience, the second reference is color-coded to make it easy to distinguish the three personas mentioned in this paragraph - Yahweh, Malchi-zedek, and a third person that thought he could lift up his head but Yah ended up crushing his head.
• In hebrew, the name Melchizedek is written with a hyphen and pronounced Malchi-Zedek (מַלְכִּי-צֶדֶק), literally meaning "my king righteousness".
• The two references don't appear to be referring to the same person--Genesis refers to a Canaanite king called the "king of Salem" and Psalms refers to a future person that is both a ruler and a priest. The only commonality between them is their name.
• A name in the Bible can be shared over the ages by several individuals. Sharing a name doesn't mean that they are the same person. Also, biblical names frequently have a meaning that somehow relates to that person's key traits or the state of mind in which the parent was when he/she named their child.
• Psalms starts with Malchi-zedek sitting at the right hand of Yahweh and ends with Yahewh at the right hand of Malchi-zedek's judging and crushing his enemies.
• The words “in the manner of the order of Melchizedek” or “in accordance with the order of Malchi-zedek” are not mentioned in Hebrew. In other words, the concept of "the order of Melchizedek" simply does not exist in the Hebrew Bible.

 

I would like to propose that "Malchi-zedek" in Psalms is not an actual name but rather an adjective (aka a descriptive title) of either King David or a prototype end-of-days ruler that is a descendent of king David. The common thread between the two Melchizedek may be righteous kingship.

 

Melchizedek in the Book of Hebrews

Curiously, and not in line with the two references in the Hebrew Bible, Melchizedek is elevated to the status of divinity by the author of Hebrews.

Hebrews 7:1-3  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 of everything—in the first place, his name is translated “king of righteousness,” and then also “king of Salem,” that is, “king of peace”; 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 for all time.  Lexham English Bible (LEB)

 

The author of Hebrews does not merely say that Melchizedek’s genealogy, father, and mother were not recorded in the Bible, but that he never had any ancestry, which an actual human being would have. Thus, he becomes a fourth member of the Christian godhead, thereby replacing the Trinity with a Quaternary. This addition of Melchizedek to the Christian godhead to form a Quaternary, rather than a Trinity, is the only conclusion to be drawn from the information provided by the author of Hebrews.

 

It seems that the author of Hebrews is building an argument from the silence of Genesis. In addition to taking Psalms 110:4 out of context to promote a new doctrine of “the priestly order of Melchizedek”, the author made a pretty big deal out of the fact that no genealogy was provided for Melchizedek in Genesis. 

 

Considering the fact that in the same chapter (14), Genesis doesn’t specify the genealogy of the other nine kings (it doesn’t even mention the name of one of them!), can we please ask - what’s the big deal? The absence of any reference to Melchizedek’s ancestry does not justify the extreme statement that he had “neither beginning of days nor end of life.” There is absolutely no biblical foundation for such a conclusion!

 

As far as I can tell, the Hebrew Bible rarely if ever wastes ink on genealogies of foreign rulers. Here are a few examples:

Joshua 11:1-5 And it happened, when Jabin king of Hazor heard this, he sent to Jobab king of Madon, to the king of Shimron, to the king of Acshaph, and to the kings who were in the north in the hill country, in the Arabah south of Kinnereth, in the Shephelah, and in Naphoth Dor in the west, to the Canaanites in the east and west, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, and the Jebusites in the hill country, and the Hivites at the foot of Hermon in the land of Mizpah. They came out, they and all their armies with them, as a great army like the sand on the seashore, with very many horses and chariots. And all these kings joined forces, and they came and camped together by the waters of Merom to fight with Israel. Lexham English Bible (LEB)

 

Joshua 12:7-24  These are the kings of the land whom Joshua and the Israelites defeated beyond to the Jordan to the west… the king of Jericho, one; the king of Ai, which is beside Bethel, one; the king of Jerusalem, one; the king of Hebron, one; the king of Jarmuth, one; the king of Lachish, one; the king of Eglon, one; the king of Gezer, one; the king of Debir, one; the king of Geder, one; the king of Hormah, one; the king of Arad, one; the king of Libnah, one; the king of Adullam, one; the king of Makkedah, one; the king of Bethel, one; the king of Tappuah, one; the king of Hepher, one; the king of Aphek, one; the king of Lasharon, one; the king of Madon, one; the king of Hazor, one; the king of Shimron-meron, one; the king of Acshaph, one; the king of Taanach, one; the king of Megiddo, one; the king of Kedesh, one; the king of Jokneam in Carmel, one; the king of Dor in Naphath Dor, one; the king of Goiim for Gilgal, one; the king of Tirzah, one; all the kings, thirty-one. [NOTE: 31 kings, no father, no mother, no genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life] Lexham English Bible (LEB)

 

If you are not convinced yet that the author of Hebrews took the liberty of literally inventing a doctrine from nothing, ask yourself the following - based on the logic presented by him, since the Bible did provide a meticulous genealogy for Yeshua, are we to conclude that Yeshua is inferior to Melchizedek? After all, unlike Melchizedek, Yeshua had an adoptive father, Joseph, a mother, Mary, and a genealogy, as found in Matthew and Luke. The New Testament also says that Yeshua had a beginning in time—according to Revelation, he was the first thing created by God, that is, “the beginning of the creation of God” (Revelation 3:14) and Matthew speaks of the “birth of Jesus Christ” (Matthew 1:18).

 

Another Friendly King…

The story of the friendly king Melchizedek who blesses Abraham and El Elyon reminds me of another pagan king - Hiram King of Tyre (located on two islands 600-700m from the mainland and 40 km south of Sidon). 

 

Hiram of Tyre was an ally of both David and Solomon, assisting them in the construction of Solomon's palace (2 Samuel 5:11-12) and timber for the temple in Jerusalem (1 Kings 5:1-11). 

 

Hiram was no stranger to temple-building, Having constructed temples dedicated to Ba'al (patron deity of Tyre) and Asherah in Tyre itself. 

 

Good relations between Tyre and Israel benefited both parties. Tyre depended upon Israel for its food supply (Acts 12:20), while Israel made use of the two major assets of Tyre: its access to the sea-trading routes and its abundant supply of timber (1 Kings 5:8-11). 

 

During the time of Solomon's major building projects he became indebted to Hiram and gave him twenty towns in Galilee (1 Kings 9:10-11, 14). Hiram was not happy with them and complained to Solomon that they were worthless (1 Kings 9:12-13). Chronicles records that Solomon later rebuilt these towns and resettled them with his own people (2 Chronicles 8:2).

 

The fact that the Hebrew Bible records Hiram offering praise to Yahweh (1 Kings 5:7; 2 Chronicles, 2:11-12) does not mean that he was converted. It was common in polytheistic cultures to accept the existence of other people's gods and even enter into their theology to some extent.

 

1 Kings 5:1-7,10-11  Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants to Solomon when he heard that they had anointed him as king in place of his father, for Hiram had always been a friend for David.  Then Solomon sent to Hiram, saying…  Here I am, intending to build a house for the name of Yahweh my God, as Yahweh promised to my father David… When Hiram heard the words of Solomon, he rejoiced greatly, and he said, “Blessed be Yahweh this day, who has given to David a wise son over this great people”… So Hiram was giving to Solomon the cedar timbers and the cypress timbers, everything he needed. Then Solomon gave to Hiram twenty thousand dry measures of wheat as food for his household, and twenty dry measures of specially prepared olive oil; thus Solomon gave to Hiram year by year. Lexham English Bible (LEB)

 

And no, the Hebrew Bible does not record Hiram’s genealogy either -> no father, no mother, no genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life!

 

You got my point?

 

So... Who was Melchizedek?

Now that we clearly see that there is really only one reference to Melchizedek in the Hebrew Bible, namely in Genesis 14, let’s try to glean as much information as we can from this passage about who he was:

 

He was Canaanite King of Salem. Salem was located in the vicinity of Shechem as mentioned in Part 1 of this blog series (it is one and the same as Shiloh).

 

He was Priest of El Elyon. Meaning, he considered El Elyon as supreme owner/maker of heaven and earth. In Canaanite religion, El was known as the supreme god of the Canaanites in the mythology of the ancient Near East. He was the father of gods and men and the creator deity. In the Hebrew Bible, “El” is a generic term for God or god. Names given to children were often combined with El (meaning “God”). Eldad (God Has Loved), Abdiel (Servant of God), Daniel (My Judge Is God). “El” was basically the universal word for ‘deity’ in the Middle East. We’re talking Arabic, Hebrew, Ugaritic, Phoenician, and many more. 

 

It’s possible that Melchizedek was a Canaanite priest of the Canaanite El. It’s also possible that he was a monotheistic Canaanite that worshipped Yahweh. After all, Abraham’s journeys definitely crossed Salem. It is within the realm of possibilities that they crossed paths and even stroke an alliance. This alliance could be at the core of Melchizedek’s coming to pay homage to Abraham and of Abraham tithing to him. This reminds me of David sharing the spoils with his allies (from “all the places where David and his men had roamed”) after he defeated the Amalekites (1 Samuel Chapter 30). It’s super interesting that Abraham answered him indirectly with the following words - “I have raised my hand to Yahweh, El Elyon, Maker of heaven and earth”. The emphasis on "Yahweh" by Abraham cannot go unnoticed. It’s almost as if Abraham was clarifying to Melchizedek “I don’t know about you but My El Elyon is Yahweh”.

 

No genealogy mentioned for him--no additional details are provided for him. His role is short and sweet -> provide a contrast to the King of Sodom (aka a righteous king vs a corrupt king). That's it. Mission accomplished.

 

To Summarize...

Despite the prevalence of the popular tradition dating back to interpretive traditions of the late Second Temple, ‘Salem’ was NEVER an early or alternate name for Jerusalem.

 

Not only was Salem NOT identified with the ancient capital of Judah, it was actually associated with the capital of its rebellious Israelite rival, Shechem.

 

Shilo - שלה and Shalem/Salem - שלם are one and the same. They match in Hebrew meaning and they match in geographical location. Both Abraham and Jacob passed through this location during their journeys; Abraham, several times, including on his way back from defeating the 4 Kings confederation. 

 

During the time of Genesis 14 account, Shiloh was a walled Canaanite city with a religious shrine or sanctuary. After the Conquest, Shiloh became the home of the Tabernacle and the Ark of the Covenant and served as the spiritual capital of the Israelites for almost 400 years; a status it held until shortly before David's elevation of Jerusalem.

 

Melchizedek was a Canaanite king of Salem/Shiloh; he was also a priest, possibly of the Canaanite supreme deity “El”. (He could alternately be a monotheistic Canaanite that worshipped Yahweh - a bit far-fetched but within the realm of possibilities).

 

As with all other Canaanite (and other foreign) kings in the Hebrew Bible, whether friends or foes, no genealogy is recorded for him. The Hebrew Bible doesn’t waste ink on foreign genealogies unless they serve a purpose.

 

Sorry to burst some bubbles here but Psalms 110 does not refer to the Melchizedek of Genesis 14. These are clearly two different characters.

 

As we saw in 1 Kings, the fact that the Hebrew Bible records a pagan king offering praise to Yahweh (1 Kings 5:7; 2 Chronicles, 2:11-12) does not mean that this king was converted or worshiped Yahweh. It was common in polytheistic cultures to accept the existence of other people's gods and even enter into their theology to some extent.

 

And, on a side note, the 3 verses in Genesis referring to Melchizedek are not even mentioned in the Book of Jubilees. This could provide more food for thought…