Hebrews 7:1–22

Christ Is Superior to Melchizedek

¹Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of the Most High God. He met Abraham and blessed him when Abraham was returning from defeating the kings. ²Abraham gave Melchizedek a tenth of everything he had captured. 

In the first place, Melchizedek’s name means king of God’s approval. He is also called king of Salem (which means king of peace). ³No one knows anything about Melchizedek’s father, mother, or ancestors. No one knows when he was born or when he died. Like the Son of God, Melchizedek continues to be a priest forever. 

⁴You can see how important Melchizedek was. Abraham gave him a tenth of what he had captured, even though Abraham was the father of the chosen people. ⁵Moses’ Teachings say that members of the tribe of Levi who become priests must receive a tenth of everything from the people. The priests collect it from their own people, Abraham’s descendants. ⁶Although Melchizedek was not from the tribe of Levi, he received a tenth of everything from Abraham. Then Melchizedek blessed Abraham, who had God’s promises. ⁷No one can deny that the more important person blesses the less important person. 

⁸Priests receive a tenth of everything, but they die. Melchizedek received a tenth of everything, but we are told that he lives. ⁹We could even say that when Abraham gave Melchizedek a tenth of everything, Levi was giving a tenth of everything. Levi gave, although later his descendants would receive a tenth of everything. ¹⁰Even though Levi had not yet been born, he was in the body of Abraham when Melchizedek met him. 

¹¹The people established the Levitical priesthood based on instructions they received. If the work of the Levitical priests had been perfect, we wouldn’t need to speak about another kind of priest. However, we speak about another kind of priest, a priest like Melchizedek, not a Levitical priest like Aaron. 

¹²When a different kind of priesthood is established, the regulations for those priests are different. ¹³The priest whom we are talking about was a member of a different tribe. No one from that tribe ever served as a priest at the altar. ¹⁴Everyone knows that our Lord came from the tribe of Judah. Moses never said anything about priests coming from that tribe. ¹⁵The regulations were different. This became clear when a different priest who is like Melchizedek appeared. ¹⁶That person is a priest, not because he met human requirements, but because he has power that comes from a life that cannot be destroyed. ¹⁷The Scriptures say the following about him: “You are a priest forever, in the way Melchizedek was a priest.” ¹⁸The former requirements are rejected because they are weak and useless. ¹⁹Moses’ Teachings couldn’t accomplish everything that God required. But we have something else that gives us greater confidence and allows us to approach God. 

²⁰None of this happened without an oath. The men from the tribe of Levi may have become priests without an oath, ²¹but Jesus became a priest when God took an oath. God said about him, “The Lord has taken an oath and will not change his mind. You are a priest forever.” ²²In this way Jesus has become the guarantee of a better promise.^a