“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. 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” (Hebrews 7:1-2 NET).
Following his successful military campaign against a coalition of four city-states, Abraham (then known as Abram) received visits from two different people. The first visitor was the king of Sodom. While that visit is not relevant to this portion of Scripture, Abraham’s second visitor was critical to this discussion of Jesus’ priestly ministry. That second visitor’s name was Melchizedek.
As mentioned earlier, Melchizedek is something of a mysterious figure. In addition to his position as the king of Salem, he also served as a priest of the most high God. The Biblical book of Genesis mentions nothing concerning Melchizedek’s origin, why he came to visit Abraham, how he became a priest of God, or how Abraham knew him. We only know that Melchizedek was there with Abraham, he brought out bread and wine, and Abraham responded by giving Him ten percent of his plunder.
We’ll consider some potential answers to those mysteries as we move through our text from Hebrews chapter seven. But for now, let’s direct our attention to what we do know. First, we’re told that Melchizedek was the king of Salem. “Salem” is a word that means “peace,” and is thought to be the oldest name for the city of Jerusalem. (1) In light of this, we can say that Melchizedek was the “king of peace.”
The name Melchizedek means “king of righteousness.”(2) Thus, Melchizedek held the dual role of priest and king, a rare combination in any era. In addition, Melchizedek brought out bread and wine, two elements that achieved greater significance in the New Testament account of Jesus’ life (see 1 Corinthians 11:23-26).
This information makes it possible to draw several comparisons between Melchizedek in the Old Testament and Jesus in the New Testament. Those comparative qualities have led many to conclude that Melchizedek was a Christophany, or an Old Testament appearance of Christ prior to His physical birth. This seems unlikely, for Hebrews 7:3 will later tell us that Melchizedek was “…made like the Son of God.” Nevertheless, we can say that Melchizedek was a type (or symbol) of Christ at the very least.
We’ll take a closer look at these comparisons between Jesus and Melchizedek next.
(1) See “Salem” The Online Bible Thayer’s Greek Lexicon and Brown Driver & Briggs Hebrew Lexicon https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g4532/kjv/tr/0-1/
(2) “Melchizedek” Nelson’s Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Copyright © 1986, Thomas Nelson Publishers