Meaning peace; an early designation for Jerusalem (cf. Psa. 76:2).

Meaning king of righteousness. Melchizedek is a type of Christ as the kingly High Priest (Heb. 7:1-3 and note Heb. 7:1^2a and note Heb. 7:3¹). After Abraham gained the victory, Melchizedek appeared. Before his appearing, Melchizedek, a priest of God, must have been interceding for Abraham. It must have been through his intercession that Abraham was able to slaughter the four kings and gain the victory (cf. Exo. 17:8-13). Today Christ, our High Priest, is interceding for us in a hidden way (Rom. 8:34b; Heb. 7:25b) that we may be His overcomers to defeat God’s enemies, so that through our victory Christ can be manifested openly in His second coming.

The first mention of the term in the Bible. The word comes from the verb in Hebrew meaning pass over, cross over. See note Heb. 1:1², par. 2.

I.e., the Dead Sea.

Because Abraham, an overcomer, had gained the victory over God’s enemies and was standing with God on the earth, God could be referred to not only as the God of heaven (2 Chron. 36:23; Neh. 1:5; 2:4, 20) but also as the Possessor of heaven and earth (vv. 19, 22). See note Matt. 11:25^3b.

See note Num. 6:23^1a.

Here the priesthood of Melchizedek is mentioned in the Scriptures before the priesthood of Aaron (Exo. 28:1). The priesthood according to the order of Melchizedek is higher than the Aaronic priesthood (Heb. 7). In His earthly ministry Christ was a High Priest according to the order of Aaron for the putting away of sin (Heb. 9:14, 26). Then, in His heavenly ministry Christ was designated a High Priest according to the order of Melchizedek (Heb. 5:6, 10), not to offer sacrifices for sin but to minister to us the very God who was processed through incarnation, human living, crucifixion, and resurrection, signified by the bread and the wine (Matt. 26:26-28), as our life supply that we may be saved to the uttermost (Heb. 7:25a). See note Zech. 6:11¹, note Heb. 5:6^2b, and note Heb. 7:1¹ and note Heb. 7:11¹.

Here Abraham overcame the temptation of earthly substance, displaying his purity in this matter. Cf. 2 Kings 5:15-27; 3 John 1:7 and note 3 John 1:7².

Lit., he. See note Heb. 7:4^1a.