“without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God, remains a priest continually” (Hebrews 7:3).
Much like a skilled illusionist who suddenly appears in a puff of smoke, Melchizedek entered the Biblical record seemingly out of nowhere: “He is without father or mother or any family. He has no beginning or end of life…” (CEB). However, this account presents several challenges if we accept Melchizedek as an ordinary human being.
For instance, it seems unlikely that Melchizedek was a pre-incarnate appearance of Christ, given that he was “…made like the Son of God.” (1) This is important because human beings are finite- and any finite thing must have a cause to explain its existence. This is not only true of someone like Melchizedek; it is also true of every human being who has ever lived.
Neither can we say that Melchizedek caused his own existence. In order for Melchizedek to cause his own existence, it would have been necessary for him to exist before he existed. This is a logical impossibility, for something that has a beginning cannot exist before it exists. Therefore, we can dismiss the possibility that Melchizedek created himself.
While these observations may seem irrelevant to our discussion of Hebrews 7:3, they have an impact that far exceeds a simple investigation of Melchizedek’s life. For example, we can view these questions regarding Melchizedek’s lack of parentage as scaled-downed versions of a much larger question: “If everything needs a cause, then who or what caused God?”
The premise of that question requires careful attention before we attempt a response. You see, we’re not saying that everything needs a cause; we’re saying that every finite thing needs a cause. In other words, everything that begins to exist must have a cause for its existence. As an eternal (or non-finite) being, God is the self-existent, uncaused, first cause who explains the existence of every finite thing. Therefore, God is excluded from the premise of that question by necessity.
That leaves us with two options regarding Melchizedek’s origin: either he was a direct creation of God (which is unsupported by the text) or he had human parents. So why would Hebrews 7:3 make this kind of statement? We find the answer in the difference between Melchizedek’s priestly ministry and the priesthood held by the ancient tribe of Levi…
“…Melchizedek appears in history with no record of a genealogy or ancestral line, no record of his birth, and no record of his death. The point is, Melchizedek appears to transcend earthly existence; this makes him a type of Christ, who truly does transcend earthly existence as the eternal King-Priest who has no predecessor and no successor in His high office.” (2)
(1) We will address this possibility at greater length later in this series
(2) GotQuestions.org, What is the order of Melchizedek (Psalm 110:4; Hebrews 7:17)? Retrieved 06 June, 2022 from https://www.gotquestions.org/order-of-Melchizedek.html