I am so interested in Melchizedek! There is so much mystery surrounding this man. Why was he still in the priesthood if he is "without genealogy"? After all, Nehemiah threw out the priests who could not trace their genealogy. Also, why were none of God's promises to Abram carried out until he was blessed by this Melchizedek? And what is his connection with Jesus? Finally, where was Salem? Is it the same place David had to capture? -- Robert Heath

Melchizedek is indeed a fascinating figure, about whom we read in only ten verses in Genesis, Psalms, and Hebrews. To begin with, he was not in the Levitical or Aaronic priesthood--since Levi and Aaron were not yet born. "Without genealogy" does not necessarily mean he had no father or mother, only that they were not listed in any official records. (Yes, within Judaism, many legends arose about this man.)

The point of the Hebrew writer is not so much that Melchizedek was an exceptional character, as that Jesus Christ was the exception: descended from the tribe of Judah, not Levi, his heavenly priesthood was incomprehensible to some, who needed an Old Testament precedent. In Melchizedek the Hebrew writer finds just such a precedent. And Psalm 110 indicated that the Messiah was indeed be a priest in the order of Melchizedek--that is, outside the establishment, the Temple system.

I must admit I had never noticed that the promises to Abram were not carried out before his being blessed by Melchizedek; perhaps there is a connection. As for Salem, this was one of the older names for Jerusalem. Yes, it is where the Jebusites lived, whose city was conquered by accessing it via the water shaft (which still exists today).

If Melchizedek was greater than Abraham, the Hebrew writer reasons, then he was greater than Levi, since Levi was Abraham's great-grandson. So, if Jesus is in the order of Melchizedek, he has no need to be a Levite in order to offer sacrifice for our sins. In other words, the place of Melchizedek was important for Jewish evangelism.

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