7: Who Was Melchizedek?

Welcome back to the Ready for Eternity podcast. My name is Eddie Lawrence. Who was Melchizedek? Melchizedek is a very mysterious person in the Bible with a name that is equally mysterious to pronounce.

He appears in Genesis 14 -18 with no introduction and is mentioned only one other time in the Old Testament in Psalms 110. The mystery surrounding him has led to a good deal of speculation. Some say he was the pre-incarnate Jesus due to passages in the book of Hebrews.

Among the Jews, there is a tradition that Melchizedek was Noah's son Shem. In this episode, we'll consider the question, who was Melchizedek? Melchizedek's name is formed from two Hebrew words that when put together translates as King of Righteousness.

The author of Hebrews makes this plain by giving us the translation in Hebrews 7 -2. Since his name means King of Righteousness, the Bible may be giving us his title and not his proper name. The mystery deepens.

He was the first priest ever mentioned in the Bible. He was also the King of Salem, a city later known as Jerusalem. The fact that he was both a priest and a king should cause us to take note. These two roles were kept separate in Israel.

Was Melchizedek the Pre-Incarnate Christ?

Was Melchizedek the pre-incarnate Christ, Shem, or someone else altogether? Perhaps the main reason some Christians consider Melchizedek to be Jesus is because of this verse in Hebrews.

He is without father or mother or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God, he continues a priest forever. Hebrews 7 verse 3.

In addition, Hebrews quotes a messianic psalm several times which connects Jesus with Melchizedek.

The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind. You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. Psalms 110 verse 4.

These passages seem to make Melchizedek out to be something other than a normal human. But is this what the author of Hebrews really meant to convey? Does Hebrews portray Melchizedek as divine? Not necessarily.

The comments about Melchizedek's lack of genealogy probably derive from an ancient Jewish interpretive principle that implied that that which is not specifically mentioned in the biblical writings does not exist.

The author of Hebrews isn't saying Melchizedek had no parents. Instead, he is saying Genesis tells us nothing about his ancestors. As was their custom, the Jews of this time period would express this as the Hebrew writer did in Hebrews 7 verse 3.

Since Genesis doesn't tell us about Melchizedek's parents, his birth, nor his death, these things didn't happen in a Jewish interpretive sense. What the Hebrew author is really doing is underscoring a lack of priestly genealogy, not a lack of human ancestry.

Jesus and the Aaronic Priesthood

Hebrews emphasizes that Jesus' priesthood is not like the Aaronic priesthood which could be only filled by Aaron's descendants. A priest in the order of Aaron had to be descended from Aaron. In contrast, a priest of the order of Melchizedek did not depend upon his genealogy or his family line to qualify.

A priest of the order of Melchizedek was granted the role directly by God. This is the difference in the nature of the two priesthoods. Jesus was not descended from Aaron, and was not even of the tribe of Levi.

The author of Hebrews quotes Psalms 110 verse 4 to make the point that Jesus is a priest in the order of Melchizedek because his priesthood does not rely upon succession. It should also be noted that Hebrews 7 verse 3 does not say that Melchizedek was Christ, but that he resembled Christ, or he was like Christ.

This is an important distinction. They were not the same person, but they were both priests, and they were both kings. Jewish rabbinical literature and oral traditions make the claim that Melchizedek was Shem, the son of Noah.

There is nothing whatsoever in the Bible that makes this connection. Therefore, this view is based on nothing more than tradition. When did this tradition originate? It is alleged that in the 2nd century AD, Jewish rabbis who were opposed to Christianity wanted to build a case to show that Jesus could not be a priest after the order of Melchizedek.

If the rabbis gave Melchizedek a genealogy, they reckoned they could undermine Jesus' priesthood. This theory, and let me emphasize the fact that this is a theory, this theory says that the rabbis claimed that the Jewish priesthood was passed down from Noah to Shem, and from Shem all the way down to Aaron.

We know who Shem's parents were, and if they could make Melchizedek out to be Shem, it would counter the statement found in Hebrews 7 verse 3. For this theory to work, Shem needed to be alive during Abraham's time, since Abraham and Melchizedek met each other.

To achieve this, those who embraced this theory claimed that the rabbis tinkered with the genealogies in Genesis 11, reducing the age at which these men had their firstborn sons. This had the effect of causing Shem to appear to have lived long enough to meet Abraham.

Now, whether this theory is true or not is a matter of debate, however, we know for certain that the Hebrew Masoretic Text, which our modern Old Testaments are translated from, differs from other ancient versions of the Hebrew Bible.

For example, two ancient translations of the Hebrew Old Testament, both of which predate the Masoretic Text by about 1 ,000 years, have an additional 100 years attached to the begetting ages in the genealogies of Genesis 11.

Listen to the reading of Genesis 11 verse 14 from the English Standard Version, the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament, and the Samaritan Pentateuch, and notice how they differ.

When Shelah had lived 30 years, he fathered Eber, Genesis 11 .14, English Standard Version. And Salah lived 130 years and became the father of Eber, Genesis 11 .14, English translation of the Septuagint.

And lived Selah 30 years and 100 years and begat Eber, Genesis 11 .14, Samaritan Pentateuch.

Just like Genesis 11 .14, most of the men listed in Genesis 11 have had 100 years removed from the begetting ages in the Hebrew Masoretic Text. All modern English Old Testament Bible translations derive from the Hebrew Masoretic Text.

Therefore, our Bibles have lower begetting ages. Clearly, the more ancient copies of the scripture are not in agreement with the newer Masoretic Text. We can't say for certain when or why this change was made, but a number of Christian scholars agree that there was an intentional change made to the Masoretic Text.

Henry Smith of Associates for Biblical Research has done a great deal of study of the Genesis 11 genealogies. He comments that the Septuagint fundamentally preserves the original figures and Masoretic Text's primeval chronology is the result of a deliberate post-AD70 corruption.

Removing 100 years from the begetting ages gives the appearance that Shem lived long enough to meet Abraham. We don't know if this deliberate change in the Masoretic Text was perpetrated by rabbis to undermine the priesthood of Jesus, but the theory does fit the facts.

Having said that, let me emphasize that we really don't know why these dates have been changed. I bring this up because this is a popular explanation. It is, most likely, not the only possible explanation.

Why the Shem Theory Falls Short

Shem died 500 years before Abraham was born. There is not a shred of scriptural evidence that Shem was Melchizedek. We can confidently bust the myth that Shem and Melchizedek were the same person. Likewise, the Hebrew writer never said that Jesus and Melchizedek were the same person.

The author of Hebrews only says that they were similar to each other in certain limited respects. Melchizedek was a priest of God Most High. He had the honor of being the first person in the Bible to claim this title.

Nevertheless, the evidence indicates that he was nothing more than a normal human being.

Thanks for listening to the podcast. We hope this episode has deepened your understanding of scripture. If you found this content valuable, please share it with your friends. For more biblical studies, visit our website at readyforeternity .com.

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Keep studying your Bible, growing closer to God, and getting ready for eternity.

See you next time.