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ErricFiggy
Guest
I did a little research and I’m even more confused…So can someone please explain to me who Melchizedek is in the old testament?
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EricFilmer
Guest
It is easy to be confused about Melchizedek because he is a very enigmatic figure in the Bible (meaning that the Bible doesn’t tell us a whole lot about him). He was a historical person who also served as a biblical “type” of Christ, in the sense that God used this person to help prepare people for the concept of the Messiah. In Genesis he is described as a king as well as a priest of “God Most High”, and it is interesting to note that this is the first time that the word “priest” is used in the Bible. In terms of his kingship, he was the king of Salem, a word that means “peace” and (if I recall correctly) was an ancient abbreviated term for Jerusalem. He is also described as offering a sacrifice of bread and wine, and in the Psalter God promises that the Messiah to be born of the line of David would also be a “priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek” (Psalm 110:4). With all this in mind, it is easy to spot the parallels between Melchizedek and Christ.I did a little research and I’m even more confused…So can someone please explain to me who Melchizedek is in the old testament?
For a more information on this please see Fr. William Saunders’ article: “A Priest of God Most High.” It is a fairly brief article but gives a good overview of the details regarding the typology of Melchizedek.
It occurred to me that you probably already came upon most or all of this information in your research, and that you may be desiring more actual historical information regarding Melchizedek. If that is the case then, unfortunately, such information was long ago lost to history. To the best of my knowledge, the only historical information we have of him is the little bit that appears in the Bible and the comments made by theologians and Scripture scholars who came along much, much later (such as the Early Church Fathers mentioned in the article I linked).
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ErricFiggy
Guest
Wow THANK YOU,
you helped me an incredible amount! I had read almost everything that you just said but I just couldn’t make sense of it all 
but you simplified it so someone like me could understand 
so thanks brother 
po18guy
Well-known member
What I would add is that Melchizedek was Priest, Prophet and King, as you mentioned - a type of Christ. Priest and King are made plain by the scripture, but Prophet inasmuch as he brought out bread and wine as both a prefiguring and prophecy of the unbloody sacrifice of the last supper/mass. Salem later became Jerusalem, prefiguring much about Christ’s ministry - including the Christ’s nature as Priest, Prophet and King, as well as the location of and content of the last supper of bread and wine. He is named eight times in the book of Hebrews, to demonstrate that Jesus was sent of God. Actually, there is more information given about Melchizedek in Hebrews than there is in Genesis. Even Melchizedek’s name is translated “King of Righteousness” in Hebrews 7, and the name of Salem as “King of peace.” This is another case for the tradition of the Church retaining and handing this knowledge on.
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iloveangels
Guest
The Old Testament has stories that are “pre-figures” of things that happen in the New Testament. Some of the “pre-figures” in the Old Testament are repeated over and over to form a pattern so that they can be recognized in the New Testament. The New Testament fulfills the Old Testament.
One of the prefigures for Christ is Melchizedek who was a Jewish priest. He was priest, prophet and king. He really lived as far as I know, but he’s been a highly symbolic figure for a long time. He was used symbolically in ancient Jewish times to explain some things about being a practicing man of God. He’s used by Christians to explain some things about being a Catholic priest. He is also an “archetype of Christ,” predicting by his existence and mission that Christ would come and what he would be like.
Melchizedek appears in several Old Testament books: Genesis, Psalms & Hebrews.
One of the prefigures for Christ is Melchizedek who was a Jewish priest. He was priest, prophet and king. He really lived as far as I know, but he’s been a highly symbolic figure for a long time. He was used symbolically in ancient Jewish times to explain some things about being a practicing man of God. He’s used by Christians to explain some things about being a Catholic priest. He is also an “archetype of Christ,” predicting by his existence and mission that Christ would come and what he would be like.
Melchizedek appears in several Old Testament books: Genesis, Psalms & Hebrews.
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grasscutter
Guest
Also, Gen. 14:18 and Heb. 7:3. Little is known, but some believe that he blessed Abraham.
oops, I see that Hebrews has already been mentioned.
oops, I see that Hebrews has already been mentioned.
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Joe_Kelley
Guest
At a Jewish site Ask the Rabbi, there is a discussion of the First Born as Priest. One of the footnotes references Melchizedek’s credentials as a priest.
This seems to confirm a tradition that I heard a couple of years ago - Shem was Melchizedek.
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patrick457
Guest
We only know of Melchizedek in the account of the Battle of Siddim (Genesis 14), where it says that he is king of Salem, a priest of El Elyon (translated as “God Most High” in most Bibles), and ally of Abram who blesses him and brings out bread and wine.I did a little research and I’m even more confused…So can someone please explain to me who Melchizedek is in the old testament?
You’re not alone in being confused. Melchizedek sure is one mysterious guy, that many people throughout history have given different conflicting stories about his real identity: opinions range from him being Noah’s son Shem or at least Shem’s great-(great-)grandson, to an angel or even a divine being, to a scion of the line of the kings of Salem who came to know of the true God, to a mere Canaanite king who had great authority.
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patrick457
Guest
The tradition (which is first attested in rabbinic literature) that Shem=Melchizedek is only tenable if you use the Masoretic Hebrew text of Genesis, which has Shem still up and alive at Abram’s time. According to the Greek Septuagint’s and the Samaritan Torah’s timeline, however, Shem would have been dead for quite some time.
It is for this reason that the tradition was apparently originally unknown among many Christians (who used the Septuagint or a derived text), and was mostly confined to those who had knowledge of the Hebrew or a translation of it, and a few who did know of it tried to reconcile the conflicting traditions.
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Joe_Kelley
Guest
It appears that Abraham knew him. He doesn’t seem surprised or unprepared for the encounter.
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rebeccanew
Guest
Melchizedek brings out bread and wine in Genesis! That is amazing!
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patrick457
Guest
Yes. Melchizedek bringing out bread and wine has been interpreted mainly in two ways: (1) as a display of kindness (i.e. providing Abram and his men with food and drink), and (2) the interpretation more common in Christianity, as a sacrifice to El Elyon (=God), thereby prefiguring the Eucharist.
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patrick457
Guest
Perhaps Melchizedek was part of the alliance against Chedorlaomer?
po18guy
Well-known member
The “genesis” if you will, of Melchizedek being some sort of divine being seems to have come from the Letter to the Hebrews:
Hebrews 7:1-4
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition (DRA)
“For this Melchisedech was king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him: To whom also Abraham divided the tithes of all: who first indeed by interpretation, is king of justice: 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 likened unto the Son of God, continueth a priest for ever. Now consider how great this man is, to whom also Abraham the patriarch gave tithes out of the principal things.”
po18guy
Well-known member
Correction: and, as king of Salem was also “King of Peace”
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patrick457
Guest
Actually, the concept of Melchizedek as an angel or a nigh-divine superhuman agent of redemption has some antecedent in Second Temple period Judaism (cf. the fragment 11Q13, aka 11QMelch, dating from the 1st century BC, and a few other fragments from the Dead Sea Scrolls), though the passage in Hebrews seems to have encouraged certain Christian circles to (mistakenly) think that Mel was an angel, a literal OT alter-ego of Jesus, or even a being higher in rank than Jesus (cf. the Melchizedekians).
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ryanoneil
Guest
It would make sense that Melchizedk is Shem because Noah had prophesied that Shem’s descendant would rule over the descendants of Ham and Japheth.
“Blessed be the LORD, the God of Shem! Let Canaan be his slave.May God expand Japheth, and may he dwell among the tents of Shem; and let Canaan be his slave.” (Gen 9:26-27)
There is no mention of Shem handing on his blessing to his first-born or to any one of his sons and nothing else is said about him except ten generations later one of his descendants gave birth to a first born Abraham. Then Abraham fulfilled Noah’s prophesy after defeating Chedorlaomer and immediately Melchizedek shows up and pronounces a blessing over Abraham which is very similair the blessing that Noah pronounced over Shem.
“Blessed be Abram by God Most High, the creator of heaven and earth; And blessed be God Most High, who delivered your foes into your hand.” (Gen 14:19-20)
It sounds alot like the blessing of a righteous first born when a father passed on his priestly duties (but in this case it skips a number of generations).
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patrick457
Guest
Again, main problem with this is, Shem can only be alive in Abram’s time if we take the ages of the patriarchs in the Masoretic text to be accurate - which puts us in a dilemma when we compare the ages as they found in the Septuagint and the Samaritan Torah. So the question is: which of these three textual traditions - all of whom disagree with one another on this point in places - represent accurately the ‘original’ version and which is ‘corrupt’?
FTR I’ve written a series of posts about this actually and would dig them up later.
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Jerry-Jet
Guest
Why do people have a problem with Melchizedek not being man nor angel? The bible says he had no father or mother so he couldn’t be Shem. If his priesthood endures forever he’s not a man.
I guess he could be an angel but why does he have to be?
Look people–God can create Melchizedek without him being man or angel.
He serves God and Jesus is in his order of priesthood–look if Jesus is in his order then Melchizedek has to be pretty special–I think that rules out him being just a man and if he were King of Salem I think that rules out him being an angel also.
I think the same people that can’t conceive of animals being in heaven are the same people that can’t conceive of Melchizedek being neither man nor angel.
They have on track narrow minds–God is bigger than that!
I guess he could be an angel but why does he have to be?
Look people–God can create Melchizedek without him being man or angel.
He serves God and Jesus is in his order of priesthood–look if Jesus is in his order then Melchizedek has to be pretty special–I think that rules out him being just a man and if he were King of Salem I think that rules out him being an angel also.
I think the same people that can’t conceive of animals being in heaven are the same people that can’t conceive of Melchizedek being neither man nor angel.
They have on track narrow minds–God is bigger than that!
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ryanoneil
Guest
Thanks, I’d be interested in seeing it. I’m not knowledgable about the different text, but according to the NABRE the math adds up. (Gen 11:10-26) says Shem was 100 at the birth of Arpachshad and lived another 500 years after that. Abram is born 290 years after the birth of Arpachshad, making Shem 390. And (Gen 25:7) says Abraham lived to be 175, meaning Shem actually outlived him by 35 years.
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