Hebrews 7:1Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

He rebuked them for their weaknesses, then encouraged and strengthened them so that they would not be despondent. At last the Apostle begins to explain the difference itself before hearers who have been encouraged. For a man who has lost heart cannot easily receive what he hears. To be persuaded of this, listen to Scripture, which says, “they did not listen to Moses because of faintheartedness” (Ex 6:9). Therefore, having first dispelled their despondency by many admonitions, both severe and gentle, he then proceeds to unfold this difference. What then does he say? “For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God.” And this is remarkable: in the type itself he reveals a great difference between them. As I have said, he always proves the truth by the type and the present by the past, because of the weakness of his hearers. “For,” he says, “this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, and to him Abraham apportioned a tenth part of everything.” Having set forth the whole event briefly, he examines it from its mystical side, and first begins with the name. “First,” he says, “by interpretation, king of righteousness.” Rightly so, for “zedek” means righteousness, and “melchi” means king. Therefore Melchizedek means “king of righteousness.” Do you see the precision in the very expressions? And who is this King of righteousness, if not our Lord Jesus Christ?

How is this so? I shall say at once. It is written of Melchizedek that he was "priest of God Most High" (Gen 14:18). If Melchizedek is the Holy Spirit, then the Spirit is brought down into the number of those who minister as priests, and He has a ministerial position.

Thus He too will sing praise to the Most High God together with the holy Angels. For it is written, "Bless the Lord, all His Angels, His ministers who do His will" (Ps 102:20-21).

There can be no doubt whatever that anyone who performs priestly service for another does not serve himself as priest, but God, as a higher being. Therefore, if we say that the Spirit serves as priest, we certainly place Him below the divine nature.

Even more, in that case He is placed among produced beings and will worship together with us. In any case He will not sanctify Himself, since what is sanctified is, of course, sanctified by a being higher in nature than itself. Then He will be sanctified together with us.

How then will that which is sanctified be God by nature? Is not every priest sanctified and in this way approach the fulfillment of the priestly office? "For no one takes this honor to himself, but he who is called by God, as Aaron was" (Heb 5:4).

Paul added that Christ also did not appropriate to Himself the glory of becoming High Priest. Rather, it was given by Him Who said to Him, "You are My Son, today I have begotten You." As He also says in another place, "You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek" (Heb 5:5-6; cf. Ps 2:7; Ps 109:4).

We must know that the Son Himself, the Word Who came forth from God the Father, could not, as it is said, serve as priest and be in a ministerial rank, unless He were understood as having become like us. He is called prophet (Acts 3:22; cf. Deut 18:15), apostle (Heb 3:1), and likewise priest (Heb 5:6; Ps 109:4), according to His humanity.

The form of servitude and a servant's condition befit Him. This is His emptying. For He is in the form of the Father and in equality with Him. He is the One before Whom even the highest Seraphim stand, and Whom thousands of thousands of Angels serve (Dan 7:10).

When He emptied Himself (Phil 2:6-7), then, and only then, did He appear as "minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle," as it is said (Heb 8:2). Then He also was sanctified together with us, though He is higher than every creature.

For "He Who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all of One. Therefore He is not ashamed to call them brethren," saying, "I will declare Your name to My brethren" (Heb 2:11-12; Ps 21:23).

Thus, while sanctifying as God, when He became man, dwelt among us (Jn 1:14), and was called brother according to humanity, He is also sanctified together with us, as it is said.

Therefore both the office of the priesthood and His sanctification together with us belong to God's divine economy concerning the flesh. This is what we shall ascribe to the measure of His emptying, if we resolve to think rightly and without reproach.

But if we say that the Holy Spirit, Who in no way underwent emptying, serves as priest, then we deprive Him of the glory befitting God. We number Him among those subject to God, assigning Him the status of a created being.

Or let them show us that the Spirit became man and underwent the abasement appointed by the divine economy, as is certainly the case with the Son. Because the holy and worshiped Trinity is consubstantial, one may not assign the work of becoming man to any of Its Persons at will.

The Father Himself did not become man, nor did the Holy Spirit, but only the Son. This is how the divine Scriptures initiate us into the mystery.

Why then do they do violence to the truth and ascribe emptying to the Holy Spirit, Who cannot even undergo emptying, when they number Him among those who serve as priests? For Melchizedek was a priest.

But they say that, in honor of the Son and as a type of His priesthood that would come in time, the Spirit transformed Himself by Himself. I shall say, then, that the Holy Spirit neglected honor and love toward the Son, and considered care for this matter of little importance.

But how would it not be idle talk to think or say this? The Comforter, that is, the Spirit, will glorify the Son. The Son says of Him, "He will glorify Me" (Jn 16:14).

Therefore, if He wishes to honor Him, and does so without ceasing, why did He not rather become Aaron? Or Cyrus, king of the Persians and Medes? Or Jesus son of Josedek, or Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, of the tribe of Judah?

Why did He not become Moses, to whom, since he showed in himself the mediation of Christ, it was said, "I will raise up for them a Prophet from among their brethren, like you, and I will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him" (Deut 18:17; cf. Acts 3:22)?

Why did He not become Joshua, the leader after Moses, who brought the sons of Israel through the Jordan, performed circumcision with stone knives, and brought them into the land of promise? Are we not baptized in Christ and circumcised with a circumcision made without hands through the Spirit (Col 2:11)? Have we not become heirs of the Kingdom of Heaven?

Is all this not clear? Therefore either we shall imagine the Spirit constantly transforming Himself, even as though into each of those named above, in order to honor the Son, or this statement will be true. He is proved to have little concern for what is fitting, since He entered into some of the ancients to present through them the image and likeness of the Son.

Away with such mindless thoughts! Melchizedek, then, is a man, not the Holy Spirit. Yet he also receives the image of a priesthood higher than that according to the law, in blessing Abraham and in setting before him wine and bread.

For we are blessed by none other than Christ, the great and true Priest. We are blessed according to the blessing of the divine Abraham, when we war most manfully against the rulers of this age. We prove stronger than the enemy's hand, and need nothing worldly.

Rather, we count as noetic wealth what comes from God, and the glorious and unfading distribution of the gifts from above.

Pay attention to this. Abraham had defeated the enemies and was returning "from the kings," as it is written (Gen 14:17). Yet he did not deign to take anything for himself from the prince of Sodom, and Melchizedek blessed him (Gen 14:19).

The ruler of the Sodomites said to Abraham, as to the victor, "Give me the persons, and take the goods for yourself" (Gen 14:21). But Abraham, not wishing to appropriate any of his possessions, said to him, "I lift up my hand to the Lord God Most High, Master of heaven and earth, that I will not take even a thread or a sandal strap from all that is yours, lest you should say, I have made Abram rich" (Gen 14:22-23).

For the saints do not have the custom of rejoicing in worldly wealth. Therefore, when we conquer visible and invisible enemies and receive nothing from the world, but instead honor the wealth above, we receive the blessing through Christ, the King of peace.

We receive the blessing by receiving the mystical gift, as a gift from heaven and provision for life. Let this be passed over in silence for now, if you wish.

We are also blessed by Christ through His intercession for us before God. Melchizedek blessed Abraham, saying, "Blessed be God Most High, Who delivered your enemies into your hands" (Gen 14:20). Our Lord Jesus Christ, the propitiation for us all, says, "Holy Father, keep them in Your truth" (Jn 17:11, 17).

From the very interpretation of the names, the Apostle draws what is useful for the prefiguration of Christ. The very form of the priesthood also gives a clear indication of the same thing. "Melchizedek brought out bread and wine" (Gen 14:18).

In this event, Christians now offer to God throughout the whole world. What was said much later through the prophet to Christ, Who was to come in the flesh, has been fulfilled: “You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek” (Ps 109:4). Not according to the order, that is, of Aaron, for the order of Aaron had to pass away once the very realities appeared which had been prefigured by those shadows. See Gen 13 and Gen 14.

Concerning Melchizedek himself they say that he is "without father, without mother, without genealogy" (Heb 7:3). They want to confirm this from the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Hebrews. Deceiving themselves further, they falsely invent books for themselves.

In some writers, a father and mother are assigned to Melchizedek, but this is not found in the acknowledged and received Scriptures. Yet how many others have genealogies that are not very clear? Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego, and Elijah the Tishbite. In all the sacred books their fathers or mothers are nowhere indicated.

But so that no error may arise from this either, let us not be burdened to say what we have learned from the traditions. We have found that Daniel's father was a man called Sabaa. We have also found the origin and lineage of Elijah, which I shall set forth in this order.

Elijah the Tishbite was the brother of Jodae the priest, and evidently was himself of the priests. He was the son of Achinaam. Achinaam was the son of Zadok. Zadok was the son of Ahitob, son of Amoriah, son of Amoriah, son of Razaza, son of Aaziah. Aaziah was the son of Phinehas. Phinehas was the son of Eleazar. Eleazar was the son of Aaron the priest. Aaron is known to be the son of Amram. Amram was the son of Kohath. Kohath was the son of Levi. Levi was the third son of Jacob. Jacob was the brother of Esau and the son of Isaac. Isaac was the son of Abraham.

In the sacred books, however, their genealogies are not entirely clear. With respect to Elijah, only parts of the genealogy are indicated in the Book of Chronicles, cf. 1 Chr 6:1-9. As for the natural fathers of the three youths, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, we have found them neither in traditions nor in apocryphal books.

What then shall we say? Will they too, that is, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, lead us into that false notion, so that we infer what we ought not and marvel excessively at each of them, concluding that they have neither fathers nor mothers? May it not be so.

For boundaries and foundations have been set for us, as well as the edifice of faith, the traditions of the apostles, the holy Scriptures, and the successions of teachers. The truth of God is fenced round on every side. New myths must lead no one into deception.

This holy Melchizedek had no succession after him, nor did his priesthood come to an end. He remained a priest throughout his whole life, and in Scripture he is still called a priest, because no one succeeded him. No one interrupted his priesthood during his ministry.

So also our Lord is not man, but God, the holy Word of God, the Son of God, begotten without beginning and outside time, existing eternally with the Father. Yet for our sake He became man from Mary, and not from the seed of a man.

He serves as priest before the Father, having assumed the human mixture, so that He might become priest for us according to the order of Melchizedek. That is, He is priest according to an order that has no succession.

He remains continually offering gifts for us. First He offered Himself on the Cross, in order to destroy every sacrifice of the Old Covenant. At the same time He ministers the most perfect and living sacrifice for the whole world.

He Himself is sacrifice, Himself oblation, Himself priest, Himself altar, Himself God, Himself man, Himself king, Himself High Priest, Himself sheep, Himself Lamb. He became all things in all ways for us, so that in every way He might become life for us.

He made the stronghold of His priesthood immovable forever. He no longer distributes it according to bodily descent and succession, but grants that it be preserved in the Holy Spirit according to justification.

But still others, who speak about this Melchizedek, also have a false notion of him. They judge according to the flesh and do not understand spiritually what was said by the holy Apostle in this very Epistle to the Hebrews.

Thus Hieracas, the Egyptian heresiarch, thinks that this Melchizedek is the Holy Spirit. For it is said, "being made like the Son of God, he remains a priest forever" (Heb 7:3). Hieracas takes this as though it were based on the saying of the holy Apostle: "The Spirit intercedes for us with unutterable groanings. And He who searches the mind of the Spirit knows how He intercedes for the elect before God" (Rom 8:26-27).

But this heresiarch too has altogether departed from what is fitting. The Spirit never put on flesh. If He did not put on flesh, then He could not be king of Salem and priest of any particular place.

When Abraham was about eighty-eight or ninety years old, Melchizedek met him and brought out bread and wine. In a hidden manner he prefigured the mysteries, namely the images of our Lord, Who says, "I am the bread of life" (Jn 6:51). He also prefigured the images of His blood, which flowed from His side for the cleansing of the defiled and for the sprinkling and salvation of our souls.

The Jews also say that although Melchizedek was righteous, good, and "priest of the Most High" (Gen 14:18), as it is said in the divine Scripture, yet he was the son of a prostitute. Therefore, they say, his mother is not written of and his father is unknown.

But their opinion is untenable and foolish. Rahab too was a prostitute, and she is mentioned in Scripture. Zimri, who committed fornication, is also recorded, along with Cozbi, although she was a foreigner and did not derive her origin from the stock of Israel, cf. Jas 2:25; Heb 11:31.

In the Church some think differently about this Melchizedek. Some think that the Son of God Himself then appeared to Abraham in the form of a man. But they too depart from the truth. No one can ever become like himself, as the divine Scripture says of Melchizedek: "being made like the Son of God, he remains a priest forever" (Heb 7:3).

Indeed, a man belonging to their race received a tithe from Abraham, because by origin he does not belong to them, that is, to the Israelites, but derives his lineage from other people.

The heresy mentioned above also offers oblations in the name of this Melchizedek. It teaches that he is a guide to God, and says that offerings must be made to God through him. For, they say, he is the archon of righteousness, appointed by God in heaven for this very purpose as a spiritual being and designated to be priest.

It has also reached us that some, having gone astray even more than all those mentioned above, and being still more puffed up with vainglorious thought, dared to turn to inescapable speculations. They reached a blasphemous thought and said that this very Melchizedek is the father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

O how incautious is human thought! How it gives itself over to deception, and how unstable in the truth is the human heart!

His name and the name of his city, his royal dignity and priestly service, the blessing given to Abraham, and the very mysteriousness with which he appears and disappears in Abraham’s history, all made him an important, as it were supernatural, figure. The Psalmist (Ps 109:4), depicting the Messiah as an eternal priest, called Him a priest according to the order of Melchizedek. In the eighth chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews, the Apostle Paul unfolds this likeness in detail.

What typological features were in Melchizedek? The Apostle speaks of this further on. He notes five such features: first, the very name Melchizedek, “king of righteousness”; second, that he was king of Salem, “king of peace”; third, that he was priest of the Most High God; fourth, that when he came out to meet Abraham, he blessed him; and fifth, that Abraham gave him a tithe from the best of his spoils. The Apostle dwells with special attention on the fifth, the fourth, and especially the third circumstance. Before doing so, he mentions certain extraordinary qualities of Melchizedek independently of the biblical account concerning him.