Extrabiblical Sources

Although Melchizedek appears in only two texts from the Old Testament, extrabiblical Jewish literature contains many references to him. Some of these documents aim to fill in gaps left by the biblical narrative, while others present Melchizedek as a semidivine messianic figure. Pearson observes, “The interpretive imagination devoted to Melchizedek in extrabiblical sources stands in inverse proportion to the sparsity of data found in the Bible about him” (Pearson, “Melchizedek,” 176).

The Genesis Apocryphon, a paraphrase of Genesis composed in the second century bc, clarifies Salem as Jerusalem, and attempts to iron out the composite nature of the story by having the two kings meet before journeying together to congratulate Abram (Mason, You Are a Priest Forever, 148). Josephus also identifies Salem as Jerusalem and explains that Melchizedek’s name means “righteous king” (Antiquities 1.180). He describes Melchizedek as the first priest, founder of Jerusalem, and builder of the first temple (Jewish War 6.438).

Philo’s treatment of Melchizedek in his Allegorical Interpretation of Genesis includes the same etymology used by Josephus, as well as “king of peace” in place of Salem (3.79). He identifies Melchizedek as the divine Logos (3.82) and uses Abram’s payment as justification for tithing (Prelim. Studies 99). Pseudo-Eupolemus, a Samaritan text that equates Salem with Mount Gerizim, took similar liberties (Pearson, “Melchizedek,” 183).

Melchizedek’s status reaches new heights in Jewish apocalyptic texts. A Qumran document authored in the second century bc, the Melchizedek Scroll (11Q13/11QMelch), transforms the priest-king into a semidivine being, referring to him at one point as “God” (2.24–25). The text presents Melchizedek as an eschatological figure, “reserved in heaven till he should appear at the last to establish the true Day of Atonement and usher in the final cosmic Jubilee” (Dunhill, Covenant and Sacrifice, 165). Second Enoch provides Melchizedek with a miraculous birth narrative. Born posthumously to the barren wife of Noah’s brother, the child is taken into heaven by the archangel Michael for protection from the flood (72:9). The text then predicts that Melchizedek will become “the head of a new kind of priesthood that did not suffer destruction” (Thompson, Hebrews, 146).

Such imaginative takes on the origin and eschatological significance of Melchizedek are countered by later rabbinical literature. The targums, midrashim, and Talmud typically identify Melchizedek as Shem, clarifying that he is not the royal Messiah (Pearson, “Melchizedek,” 185–86). Dunhill interprets this as an attempt to undercut early Christian speculation about Melchizedek (Covenant and Sacrifice, 164–65). Hayward disagrees, arguing that the rabbinical sources draw upon an established tradition which viewed Shem as a priestly figure and ultimately inspired the Christocentric reading of Hebrews (“Shem, Melchizedek,” 74–77). The difficulty of dating the material makes it impossible to know with certainty who was responding to whom.