Who Is Melchizedek? | Madison Pierce on Hebrews 7

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The question, Who Is Mechizedek? for this week's What in the Word topic.

Melchizedek is one of the most mysterious figures in the Bible, with only two incredibly brief mentions in the Old Testament. Yet in Hebrews 7, the author makes the astounding argument that this fleeting character from Genesis anticipates the end of the Levitical system and the establishment of Christ’s eternal priesthood.

Join Kirk E. Miller and Dr. Madison Pierce on What in the Word? as they unravel this challenging passage and explore how its complex theological argument provides a practical anchor for our souls and a better hope for believers.

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Episode guest: Madison Pierce

Madison Pierce (PhD, Durham) is lecturer in New Testament and early Christianity at the University of St. Andrews. Her research interests are the Epistle to the Hebrews as well as the interpretation and reception of traditions in early Christian literature. Her current research focuses on the author of Hebrews’s messiah language and analogies using Jewish rituals. She is ordained in the Reformed Church in America as a minister of Word and sacrament. She is also a New Testament editor at Reviews of Biblical and Early Christian Studies and a co-host of The Two Cities podcast.

Episode synopsis

Hebrews makes the startling claim that Melchizedek helps answer why Jesus’s priesthood surpasses the Levitical system established under the law. But how does Melchizedek, an obscure character who appears only briefly in Genesis and Psalms, serve the importance of explaining Jesus’s priesthood?

What makes Hebrews 7 difficult?

One reason Hebrew’s use of Melchizedek proves challenging is his obscurity. Prior to Hebrews 7, he only shows up briefly in Genesis 14 and Psalm 110. Yet Hebrews seizes on him as a key figure for understanding Jesus. This might feel initially surprising, since we would not expect a seemingly minor character to carry such theological weight.

Hebrews 7 also raises questions about the relationship of Christ’s priesthood to the law: The law prescribes a Levitical priesthood, yet Christ is not from the tribe of Levi. The passage offers, not an odd exegetical detour, but a central theological claim at the center of the book’s argument about the identity and work of Christ. So it is not only difficult, but notably load-bearing, raising the stakes of its difficulties.

Finally, Hebrews 7 is rich with intertextuality, where Scripture uses other parts of Scripture to make its case. The New Testament’s use of the Old Testament, for instance, can often feel quite perplexing, with Hebrews 7 being a case in point.

Logos's New Testament Use of the Old Testament interactive on Hebrews.

Use Logos’s New Testament Use of the Old Testament interactive to explore intertextuality in Scripture. Start a free trial.

The context of Hebrews 7: its role in the argument of Hebrews

The first major section of Hebrews is concerned with the theme of God’s household (Heb 1:1–4:13). God is presented as Father, Jesus as his Son and our brother, and believers as children in God’s household. This theme eventually leads into a comparison between Moses’s and Jesus’s roles in God’s “house,” a word that can evoke both family and tabernacle or temple.

From Hebrews 4:14 onward, the author’s focus shifts more directly to the tabernacle and the priesthood. Namely, Jesus is our great high priest. The author argues that Jesus fits the pattern of a legitimate high priest. In Hebrews 6, the author injects a warning, concerned that his audience will fail to accept the sacrifice of Christ on their behalf. Then in Hebrews 7, the author returns to addressing Christ’s priesthood, further developing the argument begun in Hebrews 4:14–5:10 and reintroduced at the end of Hebrews 6 (see Heb 6:19–20).

Interestingly, at the end of Hebrews 6, the author introduces the role of oaths to show that God’s promises are unchangeable and unbreakable (Heb 6:16–17). This appeal to oaths will reappear in Hebrews 7 in the author’s use of Psalm 110 (Heb 7:20–21, 28).

All of this—the argument for Christ’s priesthood, the stern warning, and the assurance found in God’s oath-making—is meant to bolster believers’ hope and confidence so that they might persevere, a key theme throughout (see Heb 4:14–16; 6:11–12, 18–20; 7:19). This discussion of Melchizedek, then, is not a mere abstract discussion for our author but one with profound practical ramifications.

4 main views of Melchizedek’s identity

In making the argument of Hebrews 7:1–10, the author references the account of Melchizedek in Genesis 14.

Dr. Madison Pierce surveys the main views on Melchizedek’s identity:

Melchizedek is Christ himself, a Christophany, a pre-incarnate appearance of God the Son.
Melchizedek is a type of Christ, a historical figure whose features and function foreshadow and anticipate Jesus.
Melchizedek is an angel. Melchizedek is an elevated heavenly or angelic being.
Melchizedek is a literary foil. The author of Hebrews is using this character from Genesis to illustrate a theological point.

Madison rules out the first view for two main reasons: First, as a theological commitment, she believes the incarnation is a unique event revealing the Second Person of the Trinity. Thus, we do not have something like Christophanies prior to the incarnation.

Second, the text of Hebrews does not support this view. The author says Melchizedek resembles the Son of God (Heb 7:3), not that he is the Son of God. Hebrews presents Melchizedek as someone like Christ, not Christ himself. Further, contrary to the author’s description of Melchizedek (Heb 7:3), Jesus has a Father, and Hebrews makes much of this fact. Jesus also has a mother. He has a human genealogy coming from the line of Judah, as Hebrews points out (Heb 7:14).

Madison notes how Jewish traditions, especially material from Qumran, developed highly-elevated reflections on Melchizedek. He comes to be described as a heavenly or angelic figure associated with eschatological deliverance, divine judgment, and priestly service in the heavenly realm. Thus, by the time Hebrews is written, Melchizedek has become more than just a minor king from Genesis in the Jewish imagination. He had become a figure around whom important priestly and heavenly themes cluster.

According to Madison, Hebrews seems to operate in that interpretive atmosphere. The author of Hebrews may be aware of these perspectives, even if he does not fully identify Melchizedek as an angelic being. Yet this broader Jewish tradition may help explain why Melchizedek would be such a rich figure for Hebrews to use.

How Melchizedek resembles Jesus in Genesis 14

The author provides a detailed reading of Genesis 14 in Hebrews 7:1–3:

He highlights the meaning of Melchizedek’s name (etymologically צַדִּיק/צֶדֶק + מֶלֶךְ), which means “king of righteousness.”
He observes that Melchizedek is “king of Salem.” The word “Salem” (שָׁלֵם) relates to שָׁלוֹם (shalom, “peace”), making Melchizedek “king of peace.”
Importantly, Salem is that same city that will eventually be renamed Jeru-salem.
Yet not only is Melchizedek a king, he is also a “priest of the Most High God.”

Melchizedek shares many important similarities with Christ. Whereas the Mosaic law separated priest and king, Melchizedek embodies both roles, exemplifying an order of priest that is simultaneously royalty. In this way, Melchizedek resembles and anticipates Jesus who, in distinction from the Levitical priesthood, is both priest and king. Not only that, but Melchizedek is the king of Jerusalem, which importantly is the city where David reigned, from whom Christ descends.

Finally, Hebrews describes Melchizedek as being “without father or mother or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but … continues [as] a priest forever” (Heb 7:3). One explanation is that because the narrative of Genesis does not mention Melchizedek’s ancestry, birth, or death, the author of Hebrews is able to treat these things as if they don’t exist. He’s described as if he has no beginning or end, so resembling Christ. Another possibility is that Hebrews is drawing on Psalm 110’s declaration that this priesthood is “forever,” taking “forever” to refer to both directions: not merely perpetually into the future but eternally from the past.

Given all of these details, the figure of Melchizedek provides clues to understanding Jesus’s identity as priest. He is of different and superior order than the Levitical priesthood; namely, his priesthood is of the order of Melchizedek.

Why is Abraham’s tithe to Melchizedek so significant?

The author of Hebrews highlights (1) that Abraham gave Melchizedek a tenth of his spoils and (2) that Melchizedek blessed Abraham (Heb 7:1–2). Our author develops the significance of these things in Hebrews 7:4–10: Melchizedek’s interaction with Abraham in Genesis 14 shows how great he is.

First, the Mosaic law would eventually assign tithes to the Levites. They received a tenth from Israel because of their priestly service (Num 18:21, 26; 2 Chron 31:4, 5). So when Abraham gives a tenth to Melchizedek, the author of Hebrews sees more in this than a mere act of generosity. He sees a priestly relationship at work. Melchizedek appears to be receiving what the law will later associate with priests. And because Levi is descended from Abraham, Hebrews makes the striking claim that Levi, in the sense that he descends from Abraham (he was “in the loins” of Abraham; Heb 7:10), paid tithes to Melchizedek through Abraham. In other words, even before the existence of the Levitical priesthood, its priestly order is shown to be subordinate to Melchizedek’s. Likewise, if Christ’s priesthood is of the order of Melchizedek, he is a superior priest to the Levitical one.

Madison points out how the author of Hebrews allows the Mosaic law, specifically its law of tithing, to shed light backward on Genesis. The law did not yet exist in Abraham’s day, but interestingly Hebrews reads Genesis 14 in light the law and treats this as a legitimate interpretive move.

Second, Melchizedek’s blessing of Abraham reinforces this same point. Hebrews maintains that the lesser is blessed by the greater. Thus, if Melchizedek blesses Abraham, then Melchizedek is the superior in that encounter. On top of this, Abraham is no insignificant figure: He is the patriarch, the one who received God’s promises. If Melchizedek stands above Abraham of all people, that implies that Melchizedek must be extraordinarily great—and so too Jesus whose priesthood finds its explanation in Melchizedek’s.

How Jesus’s priesthood is superior to the Levitical priesthood

In Hebrews 7:11–28, the author connects all of this to Jesus’s priesthood.

If “perfection” could have come through the Levitical priesthood, there would have been no need for another priest to arise according to the order of Melchizedek (Heb 7:11). But Psalm 110 announces such a priest (Ps 110:4; quoted in Heb 5:6; 7:17, 20; cf. Heb 1:13). In speaking of another priesthood, the psalm in principle anticipates the end of the Levitical one (see the comparable logic in Heb 8:13). The Levitical priesthood was never the final reality.

Madison argues that “perfection” here (Heb 7:11, 19, 28) refers not to moral flawlessness, but to the transformation Jesus undergoes in his resurrection. Jesus is “made perfect,” not because he moved from sinfulness to holiness, but because his humanity passed through death into resurrection-life. So Hebrews explains that Jesus’s priesthood was established by his “indestructible life” (Heb 7:16). His resurrection qualifies him for an eternal priesthood.

In contrast to this “perfection,” the levitical priests were “weak” (Heb 7:18, 28), meaning their ministry was eventually prevented by death (Heb 7:23). Jesus’s priestly ministry is superior to theirs because it continues “forever” (Heb 7:17, 21, quoting Ps 110:4; see also Heb 7:3). So, our author concludes, Jesus “holds his priesthood permanently” (Heb 7:24), “able to save to the uttermost” because he “always lives to make intercession” (Heb 7:25).

Jesus becomes the guarantor of a better covenant (Heb 7:22), not because the old covenant was worthless, but because it could not accomplish the final transformation and enduring access to God that Christ now provides (Heb 7:23–28).

If Jesus is not from the tribe of Levi, how can he serve as a priest?

Yet the Mosaic law established its priesthood based on ancestry, specifically descent from Levi and Aaron. Moses said nothing about priests coming from the tribe of Judah, to which Jesus belongs. So if Jesus truly is a priest, his priesthood must be according to a different order not according to that of the Mosaic law, and this change in priesthood entails a change in the law (Heb 7:12–14, 18, 28). Genesis 14 and Psalm 110 supply the needed category: The resurrected Jesus is a priest foreveraccording to the order of Melchizedek.

Here we return to the role of oaths in the author’s argument. Unlike the Levitical priests, who were established based on ancestry (“on the basis of a legal requirement concerning bodily descent”; Heb 7:16), Jesus becomes priest through a divine oath. To back this up, the author quotes Psalm 110:4 in which “The Lord has sworn” concerning Jesus: “You are a priest forever.” This entails that God will not “change his mind” (Heb 7:20–21, 28).

Madison observes: In Hebrews 6:13–18, our author has already stressed that God’s oath-making guarantees the certainty of his promises. So likewise here in Hebrews 7, by appealing to God’s oath, the author shows not only that Jesus has become a priest, but that his priestly ministry is unchangeable, permanent, and secure. God has sworn it. Jesus’s priesthood cannot be replaced or revised. The earlier priesthood belonged to an order marked by mortality and repetition. Christ’s priesthood belongs to a permanent order established by God’s own sworn word.

Logos's Important Passages section in Guides identify uses of the Old Testament in Hebrews 7.

Why this passage matters for believers

All of this said, Hebrews 7 is not intended for mere theological reflection. It aim is to promote hope for persevering in the faith. The point is not to leave readers fascinated by Melchizedek but to leave them enamored with the superiority of Christ and his priestly ministry.

As Madison points out, this is the first time the book identifies what Jesus offers as priest: himself (Heb 7:27). Jesus is both priest and sacrifice! Humanity was the problem, but through the incarnate Son the humanity of Christ becomes the means by which its solution is accomplished. The Son becomes truly human, passes through death, is perfected through resurrection, and now extends the benefits of that perfected life to his people.

Hebrews 7 gives believers confidence that their access to God does not depend on a temporary priesthood, repeated sacrifices, or human weakness. It rests on the living Christ, whose priesthood will never end.

Advice for preaching or teaching Hebrews 7

Madison’s main counsel for teaching Hebrews 7 is to avoid getting entangled in speculative questions about Melchizedek’s exact identity. Those questions may be interesting and may illuminate the passage’s background, but they are not the final aim of the passage. This passage is not trying to solve the riddle of Melchizedek. It is using Melchizedek to reveal the greatness of Christ. Thus, when working through Hebrews 7, one’s task is to show what Melchizedek teaches us about Jesus.

Preachers should trace the argument of the text for their hearers. Kirk advises helping your listeners understand the logic of the text, particularly its use of the Old Testament, to unlock its meaning for them.

The result? A passage that initially feels complicated and sealed off will become one full of comfort. Jesus is not a temporary helper within an inherently limited system. He is the climactic high priest to whom the whole system was always pointing.

Because he lives forever, his priesthood is permanent.

Because he offered himself, his sacrifice is sufficient.

Because God swore an oath, his ministry is secure.

And because of all this, Christians have a better hope by which they draw near to God.

Logos values thoughtful and engaging discussions on important biblical topics. However, the views and interpretations presented in this episode are those of the individuals speaking and do not necessarily reflect the official position of Logos. We recognize that Christians may hold different perspectives on this passage, and we welcome diverse engagement and respectful dialogue.