never died; he always is declared to be living. 9–10 One might even say that Levi and his descendants, the Jewish priests, who collected a tenth from all the other Jews, had themselves, through Abraham, given a tenth of their income to Melchizedek. Because at the time Abraham met Melchizedek, Levi in a sense was still in the body of his ancestor (Abraham). By writing all of this, the author of this letter has shown that Melchizedek is greater than all the Jewish priests descended from Levi.