Gard Granerød, «Melchizedek in Hebrews 7», Vol. 90 (2009) 188-202
Hebrews has more to say about Melchizedek than what is said about him in LXX Ps 109,4 (perhaps also MT Ps 110,4) and Genesis 14. Heb 7,3 says that Melchizedek is “without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life” and that “he remains a priest forever”. I discuss where the author gets this information from. Methodologically, priority should be given to an explanation made on the basis of the hermeneutical techniques that the author uses elsewhere. I argue that the surplus information found in Heb 7,3.8 stems from arguments made from silence. The author explicitly makes arguments from silence in Heb 7,14.20.
198 Gard Granerød
I have not yet mentioned the Melchizedek document from Qumran.
11QMelch is an exegetical work (26). The OT idea about the year of
Jubilee found in Leviticus 25 is interpreted as an eschatological release
of the captives of Belial, who is the lord of the spirits of darkness. Due
to the fragmentary nature of the document, the details are not entirely
clear, but in any case Melchizedek is Belial’s antagonist. As part of the
redemption, the released ones will be freed from “their iniquitiesâ€
(hmhytwnww[, 11QMelch 2,6). Moreover, “atonement†(rpk) shall be made
for the “men of the lot of Melchizedek†(11QMelch 2,8). Nowhere in
11QMelch is Melchizedek called “a priestâ€. Nevertheless, both the
removal of iniquities and atonement are usually related to priestly
activities. Be that as it may, 11QMelch probably does identify
Melchizedek with the μyhwla of Psalm 82 — here probably with the
meaning “angel, heavenly being†(27). The document quotes Ps 82,1:
“Elohim will [st]and in the assem[bly of God,] in the midst of the gods
he judges†(11QMelch 2,10). 11QMelch does not quote Genesis 14 nor
Psalm 110. However, 11QMelch is a work that bases itself heavily on
biblical material (28). It is therefore unlikely that the author came up
with the character of Melchizedek independently and without
knowledge of these two biblical texts (29). Summing up so far,
11QMelch thus portrays a Melchizedek who probably is a priest and
definitely is a transcendental, eschatological and judgemental figure
with access to the heavenly courts.
There are probably some additional references to Melchizedek in
(26) A. ASCHIM, “Melchizedek the Liberator: An Early Interpretation of
Genesis 14?â€, SBL 35 (1996) 243-258; A. ASCHIM, “The Genre of 11QMelchi-
zedekâ€, Qumran between the Old and New Testaments (eds. F.H. CRYER – T.L.
THOMPSON) (JSOTSup 290; Sheffield 1998) 17-31; A. ASCHIM, “Verdens eldste
bibelkommentar? Melkisedek-teksten fra Qumranâ€, TTK 2 (1995) 85-103 and P.J.
KOBELSKI, Melchizedek and Melchireπa¿ (CBQMS 10; Washington, DC 1981)
3-5.
(27) For alternative proposals, see A. ASCHIM, “Melchizedek and Jesus:
11QMelchizedek and the Epistle to the Hebrewsâ€, The Jewish Roots of Christo-
logical Monotheism. Papers from the St. Andrews Conference on the Historical
Origins of the Worship of Jesus (eds. C.C. NEWMAN – J.R. DAVILA – G.S. LEWIS)
(JSJSS 63; Leiden 1999) 129-147 (133-135).
(28) See e.g. G.J. BROOKE, “Melchizedek (11QMelch)â€, in D.N. FREEDMAN
(ed.), The Anchor Bible Dictionary (New York 1992) IV, 687-688 and G.L.
COCKERILL, “Melchizedek or “King of Righteousnessâ€?â€, EvQ 63 (1991) 305-312.
(29) KOBELSKI, Melchizedek and Melchireπa¿, 51 n. 8. — According to
Kobelski, the similarities between Psalm 110 and 11QMelch are too numerous
and too basic to the interpretation of each document to be coincidental.
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