MELCHIZEDEK: THE KING OF SALEM

Hugh Fogelman

Melchizedek, who was this man? The King James Version (KJV) of the Christian Bible says he was simply the King of Salem.  

The New International Version (NIV) Study Bible explains that "Salem" is a shortened form of "Jerusalem" and is related to the Hebrew word for peace (Genesis 14:18). Melchizedek welcomed Abraham after he had defeated the four kings who had captured his nephew, Lot. Melchizedek brought out bread and wine and blessed Abraham.

Hebrew Scripture tells that he blessed first Abraham and then God. As a result of this slight, God took the priesthood away from Melchizedek and gave it to Abraham, to hold for his descendants. The Midrash (the comments and interpretation of the Torah and Talmud) and the early Christian Church fathers (Jerome, Quaestiones, etc.) were of the view that Melchizedek is identical with Shem, son of Noah. This opinion of course is based on the assumption that there are no gaps in the genealogies of Genesis 11 as Shem lived 35 years after Abraham's death. However, the name Melchizedek, in this case, is regarded as a title rather than as an actual name.

Many Christian fundamentalists who try to find Jesus in every book of the Hebrew Bible believe that Melchizedek who is mentioned in the Christian version of Psalm 110:4 was a manifestation of Jesus in human form, saying "As he said in another place, Thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek" (Hebrew 5:6; 6:20;7:17 & 21). Paul says "Without father, without mother, without descent having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, he abides a priest perpetually" (Hebrews 7:3).

Modern scholarship is divided on the question whether Melchizedek was in fact, a fellow monotheist as Abram was, or whether he may have been a benevolent pagan priest who through Abram's interaction became a believer in the one universal God. Those scholars who view Melchizedek as once being a pagan, view him as a Canaanite, who worshiped the Canaanite deity El Elyon (who was the chief god of the Canaanite pantheon, meaning a temple for all the gods). Strange, Webster's Dictionary defines "Pantheon" as a Christian Church, built by Agrippa in Rome.

Melchizedek's priesthood was a source of numerous post-biblical speculations which were intensified by the difficult verse found in Psalms 110:4, "The Lord has sworn/and will not repent/ thou art priest forever/after the manner of Melchizedek.” It is generally believed that the Melchizedek mentioned here and the one in Genesis is the same.

The first documents mentioning Melchizedek in various contexts appear from around the beginning of the Christian era. The earliest is probably the fragmentary scroll discovered in cave 11 at Qumran (known as the Dead Sea Scrolls) where he is described as passing judgment. The judgment takes place in heaven and immediately there follows the "day of slaughter" prophesied by Isaiah where he is both judge and executor of his own decree and in al likelihood he is to be identified with the "ANGEL OF LIGHT." In another cave, Abraham gave Melchizedek a tithe. In Christian translations, it is Melchizedek, not Abraham is the subject of the verse.

In Christian tradition, in the Epistle to the Hebrews, Melchizedek, the king of righteousness is described as unique, being both a priest and a king, and because he is "without father, without mother, without genealogy"; he is eternal, "having neither beginning of days nor end of life" (Hebrews 7:2-3). In this respect Melchizede resembles Jesus, the so-called Son of God, and this is a type of the savior.

Since in Christian tradition, Jesus is high priest "after the order of Melchizedek" and not after the order of Aaron (the first high priest of Israel), Jesus' priesthood is excellent, superior to that of Abraham's descent (Hebrews 7: 23-28; 8: 1-6). To Christians the objection that Jesus, like Aaron, was "in the loins" of the patriarch, and consequently paid the tithe. The Church Fathers argued that Jesus though descended from Abraham, had no human father, like Melchizedek.

To make Jesus a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek, Christianity had first of all to make Melchizedek into some kind of a mystery-man. Melchizedek appears twice in the Hebrew Bible. In Genesis, he is simply called a righteous king, a king of Salem (Genesis 14:18-20). The Hebrew text states that he was a "Cohen," meaning a priest to God most high. In Psalm 110:4, it is David, not Jesus, who is told he will be like Melchizedek, in other words, a righteous king and a minister of God―which David was and Jesus not.

The author of Hebrews tried to add to what was little known about Melchizedek by guessing that he neither had father nor mother nor descent, neither beginning of days nor end of life. Wherever the writer got this myth from is his business, but it is certainly not a biblical fact. Then the writer goes on to compare Jesus with Melchizedek: "Even Jesus made a high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek." (Hebrews 6:20)

What kind of a comparison is this? According the author of Hebrews Melchizedek had no mother―Jesus did, Mary. Melchizedek had no beginning of days―Jesus was born in Bethlehem. Melchizedek had no end of life―Jesus died on a Roman cross.

Jesus was a priest? When was he anointed? Only kings, high priests and prophets were anointed and the ritual of anointing was carried out in a prescribed manner and required authorization. Saying that the "dove" anointed Jesus cannot be so. First of all, there was a special recipe for preparing the anointing oil (Exodus 30:22-38). With what oil was Jesus anointed and was it done according to the prescribed method (Exodus 29)? Christians believe Jesus was priest, prophet and king but they cannot find one verse in the Christian Bible that describes how Jesus was anointed for these three offices.

In reply to this, Christian fundamentalists will argue that anointing took place in the house of Simon the leper, when a woman smeared Jesus with a box of precious ointment (Matthew 26:6-13). But the Torah (God's laws) forbids the making of the anointing oil by the common people and warns that whosoever makes it or partakes of its scent will be cut off from his people (Exodus 30:37-38).

Besides, this so-called anointing in Matthew was not for any type of authority (Priesthood, Prophet or King). This anointing was, according to Matthew, in preparation for his burial (Matthew 26:12).

Then a preacher said to me that God in heaven anointed Jesus. Again making a statement that cannot be proven.

So what else is nu?? 

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