Martin McNamara, «Melchizedek: Gen 14,17-20 in the Targums, in Rabbinic and Early Christian Literature», Vol. 81 (2000) 1-31

The essay is introduced by some words on the nature of the Aramaic translations of Gen 14 used in the study (the Tgs. Onq., Pal. Tgs. as in Tgs. Neof. I, Frg. Tgs., Ps.-J.). Tg. Neof. identifies the Valley of Shaveh (Gen 14,17) as the Valley of the Gardens (pardesaya). The value of Tg. Neof.’s evidence here is doubtful. Most Targums retain Melchizedek as a personal name (not so Tg. Ps.-J.). Salem of v. 18 is identified as Jerusalem. Melchizedek is identified as Shem, son of Noah, mainly because of the life-span assigned to Shem in Gen 11. The question of Melchizedek’s priesthood in early rabbinic tradition and in the Targums (Tg. Gen 14; Tg Ps. 110) is considered, as is also the use of Jewish targumic-type tradition on Melchizedek in such early Fathers as Jerome, Ephrem, and Theodore of Mopsuestia.

unstable. Tg. Neof. identifies it as the Valley of the Gardens (or of pardesaya), which may not be original, since all Pal. Tg. texts have so identified the Valley of Siddim earlier in the chapter (Gen 14,3.8.10).

        In the Roman Canon of the Mass Melchizedek is called a high priest. This may be an old tradition, possibly even of Jewish origin. In Tg. 1 Chron 1,24 Shem is called a high priest, and the identification of Melchizedek with Shem may form a basis for a similar early Jewish title for Melchizedek. In Palestinian Targum texts (Tg. Neof., Frg. Tg.^P) of Gen 14,18, while Melchizedek is not so designated he is said to be "a priest who served in the high priesthood". It is a matter of debate, however, whether these words "high priesthood" belong to the original, or to an early stratum, of the Targums of the Pentateuch or were introduced only later, even as late as the fifth century if not later still.

        The manner in which Melchizedek’s priesthood is treated in the Targums is also interesting. All trace of it appears to have disappeared in the Tg. Ps 110 (from the 7^th–8^th centuries?), where Melchizedek even has ceased to be a personal name, but is rendered as "the righteous king". In Gen 14,18 Tg. Onq. treats Nhk (kohen) of the Hebrew Text as a if it were a verb (kahen), and translates simply as "he ministered". This rendering may have arisen from a desire to omit all reference to Melchizedek’s priestly status.

        The Bible was read in the Roman world by Christians and Jews alike. With regard to Melchizedek it is interesting to see the influence of Targumic-type exegesis on patristic writers. Jerome, writing in Palestine ca. 391-397, draws on Jewish traditions regarding Melchizedek. In the east, in Edessa, Ephrem the Syrian (writing ca. 373) has traditions on Melchizedek extremely similar to those attested in the Palestinian Targums and rabbinic writings, although he makes no reference to any Jewish source. The Jewish tradition was apparently part of his cultural ambiance. Further Jewish interpretations on Psalm 110 (not attested in Jerome) seem to have been known in the school of Antioch. Theodore of Mopsuestia (ca. 350-428) refers to them, and Theodore’s views have been transmitted in early Irish Psalm exegesis.

        The Melchizedek tradition we have considered spread from Palestine to influence the reading and understanding of Gen 14,18 and Ps 110 in Edessa in the East and Antioch to the North, and through the writings of Jerome and Theodore of Mopsuestia in central and marginal places in the West. The tradition or traditions or sources enshrined in the Targums probably originated and developed over a number of centuries, possibly from the second century BCE to the sixth or seventh