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Hebrews presents Melchizedek as an eternal priest, without father or mother, who blessed Abraham. Rabbinic tradition in tractate Nedarim interprets the Psalm to take the priesthood away from Melchizedek, likely to criticize the Christian interpretation.
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2500 BCE
1000+ CE
Hebrews 7:3
New Testament
1 Now this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, met Abraham as he was returning from defeating the kings and blessed him. 2 To him also Abraham apportioned a tithe of everything. His name first means king of righteousness, then king of Salem, that is, king of peace. 3 Without father, without mother, without genealogy, he has neither beginning of days nor end of life but is like the son of God, and he remains a priest for all time. 4 But see how great he must be, if Abraham the patriarch gave him a tithe of his plunder.
Nedarim 32b
Babylonian Talmud
Rabbinic
Rabbi Zekharya said in the name of Rabbi Yishmael: The Holy One, Blessed be He, wanted the priesthood to emerge from Shem, so that his children would be priests, as it is stated: “And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine; and he was priest of God the Most High” (Genesis 14:18). Once Melchizedek, traditionally identified as Shem, placed the blessing of Abraham before the blessing of the Omnipresent, He had the priesthood emerge from Abraham in particular, and not from any other descendant of Shem. As it is stated: “And he blessed him and said: Blessed be Abram of God Most High, Maker of heaven and earth, and blessed be God the Most High” (Genesis 14:19–20). Abraham said to him: And does one place the blessing of the servant before the blessing of his master? You should have blessed God first. Immediately the Holy One, Blessed be He, gave the priesthood to Abraham, as it is stated: “The Lord says to my lord: Sit at My right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool” (Psalms 110:1), and afterward it is written: “The Lord has sworn, and will not repent: you shall be a priest forever, because you are a king of righteousness [al divrati malki tzedek]” (Psalms 110:4), which is explained homiletically to mean: Due to the improper words [divrati] of Melchizedek, the offspring of Abraham shall be priests of God forever. The Gemara comments: And this is as it is written: “And he was priest of God the Most High” (Genesis 14:18), which emphasizes that he, Melchizedek, is a priest, but his children will not be priests.
Date: 450-550 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
... However, the following Talmudic text is undoubtedly polemical against Christian exaltation of Melchizedek: Because Melchizedek/Shem gave precedence in his blessing to Abraham over God, He brought the priesthood forth from Abraham, (...) as it is said: “The Lord said to my lord (that is, Abraham): Sit thou at my right hand while I make your enemies your footstool” (Psalms 110:1), which is followed by, “Thou art priest forever after the order (dibrati) of Melchizedek” is interpreted: “because of the word (diburo) of Melchizedek” (Babylonian Talmud Nedarim 32b). The elevation of Abraham at the expense of Melchizedek is so foreign to the description of Melchizedek in Scripture that a polemical intent may be assumed. Melchizedek’s priesthood is no longer eternal, but transferred to Abraham already from the outset. Apparently, the Christian claim of Melchizedek’s superior priesthood was known to the Rabbis and countered by denying him the priesthood from the outset. ...
Poorthuis, Marcel
"Enoch and Melchizedek in Judaism and Christianity" in Marcel Poorthuis and Joshua Schwartz (eds.) Saints and Role Models in Judaism and Christianity
(pp. 112-114) Brill, 2004
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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