Who was Melchizedek?
<>

Frankly Answered Questions - FAQs

Who was Melchizedek?

Q: Here's a question for you: who was Melchizedek, exactly? He's mentioned about ten times in three books of the Bible (Genesis 14:17-20; Psalm 110:4; Hebrews 5:6,10; 6:20; 7:1,10,11,15,17), but not much is said except for his being a high-priest of God, and Jesus was ordained as a High-Priest of the Melchizedek Order.

A: The bottom line is that no one knows for sure. He is a very strange figure who kind of pops up and then disappears. From Genesis 14:17-20, we know that he is a priest and a king (like Jesus). His name means "king of righteousness" and he is the king of Jerusalem (so all of this prefigures Christ). He brings bread and wine to Abraham (a figure of the Lord's supper?). Finally he receives tithes from Abraham indicating that he is greater than Abraham (see Hebrews 7:4).

So who was Melchizedek? Here are the three options that I know of:

  1. Melchizedek is a pagan priest who recognizes God's blessing on Abraham. Although Genesis 14 calls Melchizedek a "priest of God Most High," the titles "most high," "lord of heaven" and "creator of earth" (see Genesis 14:18-20) were frequently applied to the chief Canaanite deity in ancient times. The problem with this view is why would Abraham give a tithe (a tenth of the spoils) to a pagan?

  2. Melchizedek is a priest of the true God. If you count the years it has not been all that long since the time of Noah. Since Noah's time, almost all of human kind has corrupted the worship and knowledge of the God, but Melchizedek may be an exception. He is a priest who worships the true God. Abraham recognizes this and gives Melchizedek a tithe.

  3. Melchizedek is a preincarnate appearance of Christ. There are instances in the Old Testament where God seems to appear in human form (Genesis 18 and Daniel 8:15-16 for example). Some of the "angel of the Lord" appearances seem to fall into this category too. Melchizedek could be Christ. It would not surprise me to get to heaven and find that there had been an untold story of Christ walking through history appearing in various forms and guiding His people.