Who Was Melchizedek in the Bible: His Mysterious Story Explained

Many Christians wonder, “Who was Melchizedek in the Bible?”

There seems to be a lot of attention and focus on this character, mainly because of his mysterious appearance.

This pondering has led to Christian speculation, conspiracy theories, and over-assumption.

As always, it’s best to stick to the Bible and let it speak for itself. Here are the facts.

Who Was Melchizedek? - His Appearance

Melchizedek comes to meet Abraham after he returns from war in Genesis 14:

Genesis 14:17-20 ESV

17 After his return from the defeat of Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him at the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King's Valley). 18 And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. (He was priest of God Most High.) 19 And he blessed him and said, “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth; 20 and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand!” And Abram gave him a tenth of everything.

Melchizedek’s name means “King of Righteousness.”

But who is he? Where did he come from?

At this point, all the Bible tells us is that he is a “priest” of “God Most High.”

Some scholars believe that Melchizedek was a priest of a pagan Canaanite god. This view definitely has merit if you study it.

In Hebrew, the word “God Most High” is practically the same name that the pagans had for one of their principal gods— El-Elyon.

When Melchizedek speaks, he blesses Abram by “God Most High,” which could be their pagan god, El-Elyon.

In verse 22, Abram says, “I have lifted my hand to the Lord, God Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth.”

Abram includes the name “Lord,” which is “Yahweh,” before “God Most High.” Some believe that by doing this, he was basically pushing back at Melchizedek to declare who the true God was—Yahweh, the Possessor of heaven and earth.

Also, if you think about it, it does seem strange that the Canaanite area they were in would have a priest of the true God, Yahweh.

At that point, there really wasn’t an established Jewish faith yet, and many people in that geographical region had multiple gods.

I personally do not hold the view that Melchizedek was a priest of a pagan god for a few reasons.

First, I don’t think it really matters if he was or wasn’t. As we’ll find out, the Bible uses him to represent Jesus, the figure we should be focusing on.

Second, Psalm 78:35 uses the name “El-Elyon” to describe the true God, Yahweh.

It appears that “El-Elyon” (God Most High) was just a common phrase used by everyone to describe their god.

So, “El-Elyon” is not evidence that links Melchizedek to a pagan god. It could be any god, including the true (and only) God, Yahweh.

Third, it is probable that there were priests of the true God before the Levitical priesthood started in Exodus.

These priests sacrificed animals and did many of the same things as the Mosaic priests. However, they were more “wandering” or “local” priests of a specific region.

Moses’ father-in-law, Jethro was called a “priest” before the official priesthood started.

But now that’s out of the way, we can move on to the important stuff.

Melchizedek, a Representation of Jesus

Psalm 110:1-4

The Lord says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.” 2 The Lord sends forth from Zion your mighty scepter. Rule in the midst of your enemies! 3 Your people will offer themselves freely on the day of your power, in holy garments; from the womb of the morning, the dew of your youth will be yours. 4 The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind,“You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.”

Hebrews 5 and 7 clearly link this prophecy to Jesus. Jesus is a priest like Melchizedek.

Jesus links this prophecy to himself in Matthew 22:41-45.

Please read Hebrews 5 and 7 yourself.

In Hebrews 7, the writer explains that Abraham gave Melchizedek a tithe.

And at that time, the Levitical priesthood was still “within” Abraham, because the nation hadn’t been born through him yet.

So, Abraham represents the Levitical priesthood.

And if Abraham (the Levitical priesthood) paid tithes to this other kind of priest (Melchizedek), then this proves that Melchizedek and his priesthood are greater than the Levitical priesthood!

Going further, Jesus is a great high priest after the order of Melchizedek.

So, it was as if the Levitical priesthood paid tithes and “bowed down” to Jesus, showing that Jesus and his priesthood were greater.

Therefore, the people who read the letter of Hebrews would have seen that the Levitical priesthood was now obsolete, and it was time to live in the New Covenant.

Where the Confusion Comes in About Melchizedek

The confusion comes from verses like this one:

Hebrews 7:3

He is without father or mother or genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but resembling the Son of God he continues a priest forever.

I watched a YouTube short this week that said the following things about Melchizedek:

• “He never died.”

They then said in the video that “no one knows if he died.” You can’t boldly state at the beginning of the video that Melchizedek never died but then subtly say at some point later in the video that “NO ONE KNOWS if he died.” It’s contradicting.

• “He’s described as the Son of God.”

That’s also a bit misleading. The Bible does not describe Melchizedek as or say he is “the Son of God.” The above verse says that he “RESEMBLES” the Son of God. The verb "aphomoióō" implies the existence of two distinct and separate identities. Consequently, Melchizedek and the Son of God are portrayed as two individual persons, with the former resembling the latter.

• “He lives forever without growing old or dying.”

Well, there’s no reason to believe that Melchizedek didn’t grow old. There’s no scripture for that. But I can see why some would say he “lives forever.” The scripture above says that he doesn’t have an end of days. However, this refers to the fact that Melchizedek’s genealogy was unknown. To be a Levitical priest, they had to be able to trace their lineage back to the tribe of Levi. Melchizedek didn’t have a father or mother and had no beginning or end of days in the sense that no one knew where he came from. His birth and death were unknown. Just about every commentator will tell you this. There is no reason to jump to speculative conclusions about Melchizedek just to make the idea about him more intriguing.

Who was Melchizedek? Here is the short answer:

Melchizedek was a priest-king in the Old Testament who was a picture of Christ in the sense that just as Melchizedek was of a better priesthood that lasts forever and is superior to the Old Testament priesthood, so is Jesus.