194 Gard Granerød earlier commandment (ejntolhv) of the Torah — because the latter was “weak and ineffectual” (v. 18). In the third and last part of chapter 7 in vv. 20-28, the author elaborates further upon the characteristics of Jesus’ priesthood. His argumentation seems to be anchored in three points. First, by quoting the oracle in LXX Ps 109,4 for the fourth or fifth time, he focuses on the word “oath”. The other priests took their office without an oath — Jesus however became a priest with an oath, which moreover was spoken by the Lord himself. Second, by recalling the clause “You are a priest forever”, the author of Hebrews deduces that Jesus holds his priesthood permanently (ajparavbaton e[cei th;n iJerwsuvnhn), because he continues forever (eij" to;n aijw'na). Third, according to the author, not only does this eternal priest always live “to make intercession” (v. 25), but he also, unlike the other high priests, has no need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for those of the people. For “this he did once for all when he offered himself” (v. 27). 4. The Melchizedek Traditions Used by the Author It can be stated at once that the author of Hebrews bases his exposition in chapter 7 on at least two biblical sources. The first one is the oracle in v. 4 of LXX Psalm 109 — an oracle he quotes verbatim or alludes to no less than eight times in the entire letter. The second source is Genesis 14. It seems that he condenses Gen 14,17-20 — the story about Abraham’s successful return after having beaten the four kings and his subsequent meeting with Melchizedek. On the basis of what he actually finds written in these two sources, he explains the meaning of the name “Melchizedek” and the designation “king of Salem”. “Melchizedek” is said to mean “king of righteousness”, whereas “king of Salem” means “king of peace”, thus identifying the place name “Salem” with μwlv, the Hebrew word for “peace”. Whether or not these proposals are “correct” according to the standards of modern linguistics is not the concern here. For the sake of simplicity I will point to the fact that etymological interpretations of names are found several times within the Hebrew Bible and continued in Hellenistic and rabbinic Judaism (16). Therefore, the explanations offered by the author of Hebrews do not in principle represent anything unique. (16) See e.g. Num 21,3 where the name of the city Hormah (hmrj) is connected with the verb μrj “to put under ban”. As for the name Melchizedek, see e.g. Philo, Congr. 44-45, All. Int. 3,79 and Josephus, War 6,438, Ant. 1,181.