according to the order of Melchizedek” (5:6; cf. v. 10; 6:20), the “king of Salem [and] priest of the Most High God” (7:1) whom Abraham honored by paying him tribute and from whom the patriarch received a blessing (v. 6). So exalted was that priest that it could be said that Levi himself (and hence Aaron, a descendant of Levi) offered homage to Melchizedek inasmuch as Abraham was the ancestor of Levi and of all Levitical priests (vv. 4–10). It is unnecessary here to discuss the question of the historical