For this {1} Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and {a} blessed him;

(1) Declaring those words, According to the order of Melchizedek upon which the comparison of the priesthood of Christ with the Levitical priesthood rests: first, Melchizedek himself is considered to be the type of Christ and these are the points of that comparison. Melchizedek was a king and a priest, as is Christ alone. He was a king of peace and righteousness as is Christ alone.

(a) With a solemn and priestly blessing.

People's New Testament

7:1 Christ's Priesthood After the Order of Melchizedek

SUMMARY OF HEBREWS 7:

The High Dignity of Melchizedek As a Priest. Abraham Paid Him Tithes. Thus Did the Aaronic Priesthood Confess His Superiority. A Type of a Priest Forever. Christ to Be a Priest After the Order of Melchizedek. Hence, the Aaronic Priesthood Imperfect. Hence, Too, the Law Must Be Changed. Christ, the Priest of the New Covenant, Hath an Unchangeable. Priesthood.

For this Melchizedec, king of Salem. See the account of him in Ge 14:18-20. That he was a character of exceeding dignity is manifest, not only from the statements of Genesis, but of this chapter. There have been many speculations concerning his personality, but no man can lift the veil. He bursts upon us as a priest-king, king of Salem, or Jerusalem, which we now know from discoveries in Egyptian records existed even in those very early ages

Priest of the most High God. See Ge 14:18. There is no account of his parents, none of his birth, none of his death, none of the beginning or end of his priesthood (Heb 7:3); hence, he appears in the record without parents, genealogy, beginning or end, simply as one that liveth (Heb 7:8), a fit type of him whose priesthood and kingly state endure forever.

Who met Abraham, returning from the salughter of kings. See Ge 14:20. Abraham was returning from the pursuit of marauders who had captured Lot, his nephew.

And blessed him. The great father (so the meaning of Abram ), the friend of God (Jas 2:23), thus acknowledges his superior spiritual dignity.

Wesley's Notes

7:1 The sum of this chapter is, Christ, as appears from his type, Melchisedec, who was greater than Abraham himself, from whom Levi descended, has a priesthood altogether excellent, new, firm, perpetual. Gen 14:18, and c.

Scofield Reference Notes

Margin God

Most high God. Gen 14:18.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

CHAPTER 7

Heb 7:1-28. Christ's High Priesthood after the Order of Melchisedec Superior to Aaron's.

1. this Melchisedec-(Heb 6:20; Ps 110:4). The verb does not come till Heb 7:3, "abideth."

king . priest-Christ unites these offices in their highest sense, and so restores the patriarchal union of these offices.

Salem-Jerusalem, that is, seeing peace; others make Salem distinct, and to be that mentioned (Ge 33:18; Joh 3:23).

the most high God-called also "Possessor of heaven and earth" (Ge 14:19, 22). This title of God, "the Most High," handed down by tradition from the primitive revelation, appears in the Phonician god "Elion," that is, Most High. It is used to imply that the God whom Melchisedec served is THE TRUE God, and not one of the gods of the nations around. So it is used in the only other cases in which it is found in the New Testament, namely in the address of the demoniac, and the divining damsel constrained to confess that her own gods were false, and God the only true God.

who met Abraham-in company with the king of Sodom (Ge 14:17, 18).

slaughter-perhaps defeat, as Alford translates. So Ge 14:17 (compare Ge 14:15) may be translated. Arioch, king of Ellasar, lived and reigned after the disaster [Bengel]. However, if Chedorlaomer and Amraphel and Tidal were slain, though Arioch survived, "slaughter of the kings" would be correct.

blessed him-As priest he first blessed Abraham on God's part; next he blessed God on Abraham's part: a reciprocal blessing. Not a mere wish, but an authoritative and efficacious intercession as a priest. The Most High God's prerogative as "Possessor of heaven and earth," is made over to Abraham; and Abraham's glory, from his victory over the foe, is made over to God. A blessed exchange for Abraham (Ge 14:19, 20).

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

7:1-3 Melchizedec met Abraham when returning from the rescue of Lot. His name, King of Righteousness, doubtless suitable to his character, marked him as a type of the Messiah and his kingdom. The name of his city signified Peace; and as king of peace he typified Christ, the Prince of Peace, the great Reconciler of God and man. Nothing is recorded as to the beginning or end of his life; thus he typically resembled the Son of God, whose existence is from everlasting to everlasting, who had no one that was before him, and will have no one come after him, in his priesthood. Every part of Scripture honours the great King of Righteousness and Peace, our glorious High Priest and Saviour; and the more we examine it, the more we shall be convinced, that the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.