MELCHIZEDEK AND THE HEAVENLY PRIESTHOOD
As the Tabernacle, Temple and their implements are
modeled after heavenly examples, so too is the priesthood itself. Extra-Biblical Jewish
sources speak of a heavenly priesthood around Melchizedek, who is closely associated with
Shem, the son of Noah.
(Last updated 6/23/00)
Mas. Nedarim 32b - R. Zechariah said on R. Ishmael's authority: The
Holy One, blessed be He, intended to bring forth the priesthood from Shem, as it is
written, And he [sc. Melchizedek] was the priest of the most high God. But because he gave
precedence in his blessing to Abraham over God, He brought it forth from Abraham; as it is
written, And he blessed him and said. Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of
heaven and earth, and blessed be the most high God. Said Abraham to him, Is the
blessing of a servant to be given precedence over that of his master? Straightway it
[the priesthood] was given to Abraham, as it is written, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit
thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool; which is followed by, The
Lord hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever, after the order of
Melchizedek, meaning, because of the words of Melchizedek. Hence it is
written, And he was a priest of the most High God, [implying that] he was a priest, but
not his seed.
The priesthood of Melchizedek is traced back to Adam.
There is a teaching that the firstborn of each family was originally in the role of
priest. Following the sin of the golden calf, this priesthood was tainted and given over
to the Levites. This is also taught in the book of Hebrews.
The Zohar has something to say
about Melchizedek as well:
Midrash Rabbah - Numbers IV:8 - TAKE THE LEVITES, etc. (III,
45). Our Rabbis have said: Why did the Holy One, blessed be He, order the firstborn
Israelites to be redeemed by means of the Levites? Because originally, before the tribe of
Levi arose, the firstborn performed the sacrificial service. As our Rabbis have learned:
Before the Tabernacle was erected the high places were permitted and the sacrificial
service was performed by the firstborn. From the moment when the Tabernacle was erected
the high places were forbidden and the service was confined to the priests. There is proof
that the firstborn offered the sacrifices before the tribe of Levi took office. Go back to
the beginning of the creation of the world. Adam was the world's firstborn. When he
offered his sacrifice, as it says: And it pleased the Lord better than a bullock that hath
horns and hoofs (Ps. LXIX, 32) - he donned high priestly garments; as it says: And the
Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins, and clothed them (Gen. III,
21). They were robes of honour which subsequent firstborn used. When Adam died he
transmitted them to Seth. Seth transmitted them to Methusaleh. When Methusaleh died he
transmitted them to Noah. Noah arose and offered a sacrifice; as it says: And he took of
every clean beast... and offered burnt-offerings on the altar (Gen. VIII, 20). Noah died
and transmitted them to Shem. But was Shem a firstborn? Japheth, surely, was the
firstborn; as it says: Shem... the brother of Japheth the elder1 (Gen. X, 21)! Why then
did he hand them on to Shem? Because Noah foresaw that the line of the patriarchs would
issue from him. There is proof that Shem offered sacrifices; since it says: And
Melchizedek, king of Salem * brought forth bread and wine; and he was priest of God
the Most High (Gen. XIV, 18). Now was it to him that the priesthood was given? The
priesthood, surely, was not given to any man until Aaron arose. What then is the meaning
of the statement here, and he was priest? Because he offered sacrifices like
priests. Shem died and handed it on to Abraham. But was Abraham a firstborn?5 The fact is
that because he was a righteous man the birthright was transferred to him, and he offered
sacrifices; as it says: And offered him up for a buntt-offerteg in the stead of his son
(Gen. XXII, 13). Abraham died and handed it on to Isaac. Isaac arose and handed it on to
Jacob. But was Jacob a firstborn? No; but you find that Jacob prudently took it [the
birthright] from Esau. He said to him: Sell me first thy birthright (Gen. XXV, 31). Do you
suppose perhaps that it was for no good reason that Jacob asked Esau to sell him the
birthright? No! Jacob wished to offer sacrifices and could not, because he was not the
firstborn. Said Esau: What can I expect of this birthright? ' As it says: Behold I
am at the point to die; and what profit shall the birthright do to me?
* Identified with Shem (footnote from Soncino Midrash Rabbah)
Soncino Zohar, Bereshith, Section 1, Page 87a - AND
MELCHIZEDEK KING OF SALEM BROUGHT FORTH BREAD AND WINE. R. Simeon adduced here the text
"In Salem also is his tabernacle" (Ps. LXXVI, 3). He said: When God
decided to create the world, He first produced a flame of a scintillating lamp. He blew
spark against spark, causing darkness and fire, and produced from the recesses of the
abyss a certain drop which He joined with the flame, and from the two He created the
world. The flame ascended and encircled itself with the Left, and the drop ascended and
encircled itself with the Right. They then crossed and changed places, going up and down
alternately until they were closely interlocked, and there issued from between them a full
wind. Then those two sides were made one, and the wind was set between them and they were
entwined with one another, and so there was harmony above and harmony below; the grade was
firmly established, the letter he was crowned with vau and vau with he, and so he ascended
and was joined in a perfect bond. This is alluded to in the words "Melchizedek (lit.
king of righteousness) king of Salem" (lit. completeness), i.e. the king who rules
with complete sovereignty. When is he completely king? On the Day of Atonement, when all
faces are illumined. According to another explanation, "Melchizedek" alludes to
the lower world, and "king of Salem" to the upper world; and the verse indicates
that both are intertwined inseparably, two worlds like one, so that the lower world also
is the whole, and the whole is one. "Brought forth bread and wine": signifying
that both of these are in it. AND HE WAS PRIEST OF GOD MOST HIGH: i.e. one world ministers
to the other. "Priest" refers to the Right, and "Most High God, to
the upper world; and hence a priest is required to bless the world. For this lower world
receives blessings when it is associated with a High Priest; hence there is a special
force in the words "and he blessed him and said, Blessed is Abram to the Most High
God". After this model it behoves the priest on earth to intertwine his fingers when
blessing in the synagogue in order that he may be linked with the Right and that the two
worlds may be linked together. BLESSED IS ABRAM. The words of the text are a prototype of
the formula of blessing (used by the Israclites). "Blessed is Abram" (in the
sense we have given to it) corresponds to "blessed art Thou ". "To the Most
High God" corresponds to "O Lord our God". "Possessor of heaven and
earth" corresponds to "king of the universe. Further, AND HE BLESSED HIM
indicates the course of blessing from below to above; BLESSED IS THE MOST HIGH GOD
indicates from above to below. AND HE GAVE HIM A TENTH OF ALL: so that he should cleave to
the place where the link was formed with the lower world.
As they were going along they came across R. Yesa and a certain Judean with him who
was explaining the text "To David: Unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul" (Ps.
XXV, 1). He said: Why is the inscription of this psalm simply "to David"
and not "A Psalm of David"? It is because the real meaning is "for the sake
of David", i.e. of his grade. "Unto thee, O Lord", i.e. upward-striving;
"my soul", i.e. David himself, his original grade; "I lift up": to
wit, I cause to ascend, since David was ever striving to rise to a higher grade and to
link himself to it firmly. Similarly it was for the sake of his grade that David uttered
the words "To David: Bless the Lord, O my soul" (where the word eth indicates
his desire to be linked above) "and all that is within me bless his holy name"
(Ps. CIII, 1), referring to the "beasts of the field" which are called
"inwards". Said R. Eleazar to R. Yesa, I see that you have come in
company with the Shekinah. He said, "Assuredly it is so. I have been walking
with him three parasangs, and he has told me ever so many excellent things. I hired him as
a porter, not knowing that he was the shining light which I have discovered him to
be. R. Eleazar then said to the man, What is your name? He said:
Joezer. Whereupon he said: Let Joezer and Eleazar sit together. So
they sat down on a rock in that field. The Judean then commenced to discourse on the text
I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions, for mine own sake, and thy sins I
will not remember (Is. XLIII, 25). He said: The word "I" occurs here
twice: once in reference to Sinai (cf. "I am the Lord thy God", Ex. XX, 2), and
the other in reference to the creation of the world (cf. "I have made the earth and
created man upon it", Is. XLV, 12), to show that there is no division between the
upper and lower worlds. "That blotteth out thy transgressions": not merely
removing them, so that they shall never be seen more. "For mine own sake": i.e.
for the sake of the mercy which I dispense, as it is written, "For the Lord thy God
is a merciful God" (Deut. IV, 31). Another explanation of the words"that
blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake" is as follows. Sinners in this
world impair the influence of the upper world, for when they sin, mercy and the supernal
light depart, and the stream of blessing does not descend to this world, and this grade
(of mercy) does not take up the blessings from above in order to convey them to the lower
world. Hence God acts "for His own sake", in order that the stream of blessing
should not be withheld. Similarly it is written, "See now that I, I am he"
(Deut. XXXII, 39), to show that there is no division between the upper and the lower. See
now, in this way, when there are righteous men in the world, blessings are sent to all
worlds. When Abram came, blessings were sent to the world, as it is written, "And I
shall bless thee, and be thou a blessing, i.e. that blessing should be found both above
and below for his sake. When Isaac came he taught the world that there is a judge
executing judgement above to punish the wicked, and he invoked justice upon the world in
order that its inhabitants might fear God. When Jacob came he obtained mercy for the world
and perfected men's faith in God. Hence in the days of Abram MELCHIZEDEK KING OF SALEM
(salem=completeness), i.e. God whose throne was then established in its place and whose
sovereignty therefore became complete, BROUGHT OUT BREAD AND WINE, i.e. produced the
appropriate food for the whole world, and did not withhold blessing from all the worlds;
from the upper grades He brought forth food and blessings for all the worlds. AND HE WAS A
PRIEST TO THE MOST HIGH GOD, the whole thus being in the most perfect order; to show that
as the wicked upset the world and cause blessing to be withheld, so the righteous bring
blessing to the world and for their sakes all its inhabitants are blessed. AND HE GAVE HIM
A TENTH OF ALL, to wit, of those blessings which issue from "all", the source of
all the blessings which descend upon the world.
The subject of the Melchizedek priesthood will be
covered in greater detail in our study on the book of Hebrews beginning later this year.
An excellent study on Hebrews may be found at www.nazarene.net.
It provides information such as this:
Shaul identifies Yeshua with the Melchizadek figure in Ps.
110:4. While the Talmud identifies Melchizadek as a son of Shem (b.Nedarim 32b) the Qumran
community had a more mystical view. In a document found among the Dead Sea Scrolls (11Q13)
Melchizadek is presented as a future Messianic figure who would redeem those that are his.
This Melchizadek is called in the Qumran document "El" and "Elohim,"
moreover Is. 61:1-2 is quoted in reference to him with "Melchizadek" substituted
for YHWH. The redemption of this Melchizadek figure is also tied, in the Qumran text to
the Day of Atonement. It is also significant that the Qumran community believed in two
Messiah's "the Messiahs of Aaron and Israel" (1Qs 9:10-11) A priestly Messiah
and a kingly Messiah.