My brief work serves as a compilation of Jewish inquiries and traditions, so it is pertinent to share the Jewish perspective on this matter. They maintain that Melchisedec is Shem, who was the son of Noah, and by calculating the years of his life, they argue he lived into the time of Isaac, claiming that all of Noah's firstborn descendants functioned as priests until the establishment of the Aaronic priesthood. Additionally, when referring to the king of Salim, it is understood to denote the king of Jerusalem, which was previously named Salim. The holy Apostle, in his Epistle to the Hebrews, refers to Melchisedec as one without father or mother (Heb. 7:3), linking him to Christ, and through Christ to the Church of the Gentiles (as all dignity of the head reflects upon the members). For He, who was uncircumcised, blessed Abraham after his circumcision and subsequently blessed Levi through Abraham, and through Levi, blessed Aaron, from whom the subsequent priesthood arose. Thus, it follows that the priesthood of the synagogue, which underwent the rite of circumcision, was blessed by the priesthood of the Church before the rite. Furthermore, the statement, “Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec” (Psalms 109:4), points us to our established practice (as noted in the term 'established practice'). This priestly service departs entirely from the Aaronic tradition; it is not based on the sacrifice of lifeless offerings but upon the holy offering of bread and wine, symbolizing the body and blood of the Lord Jesus.
You have sent me the book, άνωνυμον άδέοσποτον, and I am uncertain whether you have omitted the author's name or if the writer chose anonymity to sidestep disputes. Upon reading, I observed that the author, addressing the crucial question of the high priest Melchisedec, attempted to demonstrate through numerous arguments that he who blessed the great patriarch Abraham possessed a divine nature and should not merely be regarded as an ordinary man. The author even ventured to claim that the Holy Spirit approached Abraham in the guise of a man; however, he failed to elaborate on how the Holy Spirit presented bread and wine or how he received the tithe of the spoils from Abraham after his conquest over the four kings. You have requested my thoughts on both the author and the subject matter. I admit I preferred not to voice my opinions and engage in a potentially contentious discussion, where any assertion I made could meet objections. Yet, upon rereading your letter, I encountered a strong appeal not to dismiss your request. I proceeded to delve into the works of ancient scholars to ascertain their views, seeking to respond to you from the wisdom of many. I soon found a discussion on Melchisedec in Origen's first discourse on Genesis. He, considering the topic from various viewpoints, referred to Melchisedec as an angel. When discussing higher powers, he employed nearly the same arguments as your author did concerning the Holy Spirit. I then moved on to Didymus, his successor, who faithfully followed the ideas of his mentor. When I turned to Hippolytus, Irenaeus, Eusebius of Caesarea, Eusebius of Emisa, Apollinarius, and our own Eustathius—who was the first bishop of Antioch to boldly confront Arius—I discerned that all of their diverse opinions converge on the assertion that Melchisedec was a man of Canaanite lineage, ruling over the city of Jerusalem, first named Salim, then Jebus, and finally Jerusalem.
It is not surprising that the priest of the Most High God is characterized as uncircumcised, standing apart from the ceremonial law and the Aaronic lineage, given that both Abel and Enoch were righteous in God's sight and offered sacrifices; further, in the Book of Job, we read that Job himself was a priest, making offerings and sacrifices for his children (Job 1), although Job is recorded not to belong to the lineage of Levi but to the tribe of Esau, despite differing Jewish beliefs. As Noah, inebriated and vulnerable in his own dwelling, served as a type of the Saviour while being mocked by his middle son (Genesis 9), and as Samson, enamored by the harlot Delilah, ultimately defeated his foes in death more decisively than in life (Judges 16)—so too do many patriarchs, saints, and prophets reflect aspects of the Saviour's image; Melchisedec, as a Canaanite not of Jewish descent, symbolizes the priesthood of the Son of God, as noted in Psalm 109: Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec. The order of Melchisedec is multifaceted: He was both king and priest and held the priesthood prior to circumcision—an indication that priesthood would ultimately be granted to Gentiles and not exclusively to Jews. He was anointed not with the ceremonial oil prescribed by Mosaic law (Lev. 8:1) but with the oil of gladness and purity of faith. He did not offer sacrifices of flesh and blood or the innards of lifeless beasts; rather, he sanctified the sacrament through bread and wine, the unblemished and spiritual sacrifice of Christ.
Many other connections can also be drawn, but a thorough discussion is limited by the constraints of this letter. I do not touch upon the more comprehensive analysis provided in the epistle to the Hebrews, widely accepted by Greeks and some Latins, which explains that Melchisedec, the king of righteousness, ruled over Salim—translated as king of peace. The scripture describes him as one without father or mother, and this understanding is clarified by the term άγηνεαλόγητος—not implying he was without parents, since Christ had both a human mother and father, but because Genesis presents him abruptly as encountering Abraham after the latter’s triumph over his adversaries, with neither a lineage preceding nor succeeding him mentioned. The Apostle states that the Aaronic priesthood, associated with the Jewish people, had a beginning and an end, while Melchisedec’s priesthood—representative of Christ and the Church, both in the past and future—is eternal, lacking a human founder. With the cessation of this priesthood came a change in the law, indicating that the word of God and divine law emanated not from Hagar and Mount Sinai but from Sarah, the free woman, and the stronghold of Zion (Heb. 5:11). Not that the Apostle was unable to explain this further, but rather because it was detrimental to persuade the Jewish people—addressing those who could grasp the mystery more fully. However, if even the Apostle, a chosen vessel, finds himself bewildered regarding the sacrament, recognizing certain matters as ineffable, how much more ought we, the weak and insignificant, to acknowledge our ignorance, representing great truths concisely and fleetingly? The Apostle underscores that before Levi and Aaron, there was Melchisedec, the priest of the Gentiles, whose exalted nature surpassed theirs, as he blessed the Jewish priesthood while still enfolded within the loins of Abraham. All subsequent commendations directed to Melchisedec ought to be associated with the Christ-figure, whose attributes personify the mysteries of the Church. I have compiled this information from various Greek texts, wishing to offer a compact representation of a vast body of knowledge, outlining salient points while allowing you to discern a multitude of viewpoints. Yet, since you have kindly sought my insights and I trust that all I share will reach attentive ears, I will also convey the thoughts of the Jewish tradition, quoting their words directly: umilchesedek melec salem hosi lehem vaiain, uhu choen leel elion: vaibar cheu vaiomer baruch abram leel elion cone samaim va ares: ubaruch el el elion eser maggen sarach biadach vaiothen lo maaser mecchol (Gen. 14:18). In Latin, this translates, "And Melchisedec, king of Salem, brought forth bread and wine; and he was the priest of the God of the highest; and he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abraham by the God of the highest, who made heaven and earth; and blessed be the God of the highest, who delivered your enemies into your hands; and he gave him a tithe of all things." Melchisedec is also identified as Shem, the first son of Noah, at the period when Abraham was born, who lived three hundred ninety years as follows: Shem fathered Arphaxad in the second year after the flood at the age of one hundred, and he lived five hundred years afterward. Arphaxad, at thirty-six years, fathered Salem (Sulu); Salem fathered Eber at thirty years; Eber fathered Rehu at thirty-four; Rehu fathered Seruch at thirty-two; Seruch, at thirty years, fathered Nahor; Nahor, at twenty-nine, fathered Terah, who, at seventy, fathered Abram, Nahor, and Haran. By tallying the years prior to each son's birth, it becomes evident that three hundred ninety years passed from Shem's birth to Abraham's. Such calculations reveal that Shem outlived his descendant from the tenth tribe, Abraham, by thirty-five years. Furthermore, it is acknowledged that prior to the Aaronic priesthood, all the firstborn from Noah's lineage, listed in Genesis, served as priests and offered sacrifices to God; this was the birthright Esau sold to Jacob (Gen. 27). Thus, it is reasonable to infer that Melchisedec approached the victorious Abraham, offering bread and wine to him and his warriors—since he was to bestow such honors upon his great-grandson—and received a tithe from Abraham's spoils of victory or, as it is ambiguous, perhaps he offered a tithe from his own possessions, demonstrating his forefather's generosity toward a nephew (as the Hebrew text and the Septuagint can be interpreted to imply Melchisedec both received a tithe from the spoil and himself gifted a tithe to Abraham, although the Apostle clearly outlines in his Epistle to the Hebrews that it was not a tithe from the spoils but from his possessions). Salim should not be seen as merely Jerusalem—an etymological construct of Greek and Hebrew—as Josephus and others have theorized; the mixture of foreign terms reveals the fallacy of this idea. Instead, it refers to a city near Scythopolis, still recognized as Salim, where the remnants of Melchisedec’s palace attest to the grandeur of its former glory, mentioned in the concluding verses of Genesis: "And Jacob came to Succoth" (Gen. 33:17). This indicates that Jacob moved to Salim, a town in the territory of Shechem within Canaan.
THEOSIS