Board index ‹ Specific Bible verses, texts, and passages ‹ Hebrews

[No Boxes]

Where’s Melchizedek? What’s he up to right now? Hebrews 7 describes him as “Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life” which sounds rather immortal. What happened with him?

[jimwalton]

Hebrews 7.3 is theological language. In the Old Testament, there is no recorded genealogy or succession recorded for him, but we are not to understand that he was a miraculous or immortal being without birth or death. The significance for the book of Hebrews and the point the author is making is (1) that Melchizedek's was a different type of priesthood from the Levitical priesthood, in which genealogy was of prime importance; (2) Melchizedek had a priesthood independent from the Levitical priesthood. The writer's point is that the Levitical priesthood was inferior to the priesthood of Melchizedek as a way of showing that the Levitical priests and their sacrifices could not atone for sin.

In other words, Melchizedek is presented as a historical person, a special character in the life of Abraham, used as a type here in Hebrews, but otherwise just a normal being. Since he was a priest of the Most High God (Gn. 14.18), we can presume he's in the presence of God with all those who worship the true God.