Hebrews 7.1

For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings, and blessed him;

The KJV heading has: Melchizedek's Priesthood Like Christ's, whereas the whole argument begins by saying Moshiah’s priesthood is like Melchizedek’s, because it is in the order (office) of Melchizedek’s priesthood. The KJV heading illustrates the mindset of the traditional non-Torah reading.  In that reading the mystery of Melchizedek is solved by seeing his priesthood in relation to Christ, whose priesthood is seen in essence as the authority of his divinity being exercised in and through the form of his humanity. It is in this frame that Melchizedek is seen as written into Scripture as a pre-Abrahamic figure to be a type for Christ.

At a new cut covenant level of a Torah reading it becomes clear that Melchizedek’s office was the office of the firstborn of Adam but as such was made unique when he blessed Abraham in accordance with the blessing of promise for the inheritance of the world.

(Gen. 14:17-20 )

Genesis 14:17-20 (KJV)

17 And the king of Sodom went out to meet him after his return from the slaughter of Chedorlaomer, and of the kings that were with him, at the valley of Shaveh, which is the king's dale.18And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God.19And he blessed him, and said, Blessed be Abram of the most high God, possessor of heaven and earth:20And blessed be the most high God, which hath delivered thine enemies into thy hand. And he gave him tithes of all.

Hebrews 7.2

To whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all; first being by interpretation King of righteousness, and after that also King of Salem, which is, King of peace;

The portrayal of Melchizedek 

How is it that the one holding the office of son of Adam through Noah is called king of righteousness and king of peace?

In the salvation of Noah the testimony of the son of Adam was saved. For before Noah’s flood the testimony of the office of the firstborn of Adam could only point back to the first Adam, but after the salvation of Noah the testimony of the son of Adam pointed to another, one whose day was yet to come, a son of Adam for whose sake Noah could be saved. 

The righteousness Melchizedek, standing in the office of Noah, ruled over was the testimony of the righteousness of faith.  And the peace that Melchizedek, standing in the office of Noah, ruled over was the peace of repentance in the office of the corporate headship of the firstborn of Adam toward God.

Hebrews 7.3

Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abides a priest continually.

It has always been known in Israel that Melchizedek was Shem.  But Hebrews points out that instead of saying this the Scriptures speak of him by his title only, and in doing so speak of him as if he were a man without a mother or father, as if he were not a mortal at all, but the son of the Eternal One. 

Hebrews is not saying this to say, as a few people misunderstand, that Melchizedek was the very son of God. For Hebrews says that he remains a priest forever, and it is Hebrews which says that to be a priest a person must be a human being. What Hebrews is pointing out is that this person holds an office that never ends and therefore the priesthood of anyone holding the office never ends. Therefore it is in order to reveal this in its time that Scripture describes Melchizedek in this way. 

When the office of the priesthood of the firstborn is transferred to Abraham and to Isaac, it is not that Shem or Noah are removed from that priesthood, but that the inheritance of the office is taken from the lineage of Shem and given to the lineage of Abraham, so that the High Priest of the office of the firstborn of Adam must now be of the lineage of Abraham and not of the lineage of Shem. Therefore, just as the Scriptures speak of Melchizedek without reference to a mother or father in order to indicate that the office he is in continues forever, so it also speaks of him without reference to any lineage following him, “without descendent”, as Hebrews says, so as to indicate that his office is transferred to another head.

Hebrews 7.4

Now consider how great this man was, unto whom even the patriarch Abraham gave the tenth of the spoils.

How great this man...how great this office....

Hebrews 7.5

And verily they that are of the sons of Levi, who receive the office of the priesthood, have a commandment to take tithes of the people according to the law, that is, of their brethren, though they come out of the loins of Abraham:

Or because Abraham gave tithes, the Children of Abraham did the same, showing that the office of priesthood is always giving a testimony to Moshiah. And this is what the act of Abraham taught them when he gave tithes to Melchizedek.

Hebrews 7.6

But he whose descent is not counted from them received tithes of Abraham, and blessed him that had the promises.That the Levitical priesthood is not the original form of priesthood in Israel is not being ignored by Hebrews.

As I have said elsewhere, Hebrews could have taken the approach of reminding the audience of the Jews that the original form of the priesthood in Israel was the priesthood of the firstborn of the twelve tribes and this was because Israel itself was said by Hashem to be his firstborn, so that when Pharaoh would not let Hashem's firstborn go Hashem Be right there! killed Egypt's firstborn.

Instead of explaining that when Mashiach made an atonement for the sin of the golden calf the priesthood returned to the firstborn of the twelve tribes, so that as a firstborn of the tribe of Judah he was qualified to become the High Priest of Israel, Hebrews chose to set the priesthood of Israel as represented by the tribe of Levi over against the priesthood of Noah as represented by Melchizedek.

What this accomplished was to show that Israel's priesthood came from Moshiah instead of Moshiah's priesthood coming from Israel. By pointing to the level in which the priesthood of Noah was transfered directly to the priesthood of Moshiah as the High Priest of Israel, Hebrews pointed ultimately to how the priesthood of Israel was redeemed in the redemption of the priesthood of the firstborn of Adam by the atonement that Moshiah made as High Priest of Israel for the nation of Israel.

received tithes from Abraham - (who had the promises)

blessed Abraham - who had the promises

Abraham paid tithes to Shem as being in the priestly office of Melchizedek while he and not Shem was the one who had the promises of Moshiah being eternally united with Yerusahalayim because it was fitting that he should honour the office of priesthood that would be transferred to him and that he, through the person of Moshiah, Abraham's son, would redeem. Accordingly, Shem acknowledged this, that it was Abraham who had the promises and would redeem the priestly office of the firstborn of Adam, (which, due to the corporate design of Adam allowed God to enact the judgment of eternal judgment and mercy that he did in claiming the branch of Israel as his own humanity even after humanity sinned, for the purpose of redeeming that branch to live eternally in himself).

Hebrews 7.

And without all contradiction the less is blessed of the better.

The meaning of this statement goes only to one place and that is to the place of saying "better" not as replacement theology reads it to say that Christ (and therefore Christians) is better than Abraham (and Jews), but "better" as in Adam is prior to Abraham and Abraham is Adamic -- and it is not that Adam is derived from Abraham, although all things are made in the one Jew, Moshiah.

Moshiah's Human Accountability

For it is possible to think that since the identity of the Jew is ultimately the sole corporate humanity derived from the neshama of Moshiah from before the foundation of the world, the world is itself derived from the neshama of all who are Jews. But this is not so. For the eternal neshama of the Jews is a redeemed neshama, redeemed in the death and resurrection of the atoning Jew, Moshiah. And the neshama that is redeemed is the neshama of the first Adam. Before Levi was to be found in the loins of Abraham, Abram was to be found in the loins of Adam. Levi and all the tribes of Israel were first in the loins of Adam. When Adam transgressed the whole corporate extent of Adam was made a sinner, including Abraham, including all the children of Israel, so that Moshiah also in becoming incarnate in Judah took upon himself corporate accountability for the transgression of Adam.

Without all contradiction the less is blessed of the better...

This is like saying, "without all contradiction the child is blessed of the parent". For corporately in the history of redemption this is precisely what was taking place in this event. Not that Abraham was directly Shem's child, but that Shem stood in the office of Adam and Abraham stood in the office of the Son of Adam.

Hebrews 7.8

And here men that die receive tithes; but there he receives them, of whom it is witnessed that he liveth.

Here / There

> > here -- in the case of the Levites

> > there -- in the case of Melchizedek

But of course Melchizedek himself did die as a person but his office did not die, and he did not die despite his office, which the Levitical priests did. For this is the whole point of the argument here. In both cases the office holders are written in the Torah as prophetic representatives of different cases of Adam's legal state.

In one legal state (Melchizedek) Adam is being considered only as represented by the natural promise of his firstborn heir. In this case, the natural firstborn heir of Adam is pictured in the Torah account as not dying but as being taken away from the line of Adam, as if being caught up like Enoch, and reappearing as the firstborn of Abraham, according to the right of the Creator to redeem whatever of his creature he claims for himself.

Whereas in the other legal state (the Levites) the firstborn of God is being represented by a legal placeholder for the purpose of the chastisement of the whole corporate body which is claimed for redemption, until the day of the action of the final redemption of the firstborn comes. That this day has dawned is the whole claim fo the Book of Hebrews.

Hebrews 7.9

And as I may so say, Levi also, who receives tithes, payed tithes in Abraham.

The Levititcal priesthood in all its service was comprehended in this one act of Abraham to lay claim to the office of, and the right of, the firstborn of Adam, the aspect of the Son of Adam, by this act of paying tithes to Shem in the position of Melchizedek while he, Abraham, was designated heir of the world by the calling of Hashem.

That is to say, while he himself had the promises, so that there was no longer any corporate authority in the lineage of Adam outside of him, Abraham, he paid tithes to Shem, who was seated in the position of heir of Adam through Noah. Thus in doing this, he placed his claim of authority on the position that Shem held. For Hashem had taken that corporate authority from Adam and had invested it in Abraham.

Therefore the office designated under the title of Melchizedek no longer held any validity unless Abraham gave it validity, which he did by paying tithes to Shem in that office. Thus, as if testifying as two witnesses, both Abraham himself and the Levitical priesthood to come, which was yet unborn in him, testified to the right of the firstborn of Adam passing to Abraham and his seed. For Levi too, in the loins of Abraham, paid tithes to Shem in the office of the Son of Adam.

And with this Melchizedek agreed in the form of his blessing.

But is this what Hebrews intends to say here by these words: "Levi also, who received tithes, payed tithes in Abraham"? Hebrews means to elevate the priesthood of Yehoshua HaMoshiah. But the means of the elevation is not possible if it is Melchizedek who is greater than Moshiah. For indeed, if Levi is in the loins here of Abraham, Moshiah is also here in the same sense in the loins of Abraham.

But if the argument is that the priesthood of Moshiah is higher than that of Levi only because the priesthood of Melchizedek is higher than the priesthood of Levi., then Moshiah only gets his superority to Levi and his priesthood only gets its superiority to that of Levi by virtue of the greatness of the person of Melchizedek. If it is thought that this is what Hebrews is arguing then it must be that thought that Hebrews has primary and therefore ultimate faith in Melchizedek and not in Moshiah. This is of course, nonsense.

What is Hebrew's reason, therefore, for reading the Torah's narrative about Melchizedek to be elevating him so highly? As has been said, it is to say that Abraham, having now the authority of God's promise to him that he and his seed would become the heirs of the world put his mark of authority on the office of the firstborn of Adam, the office of the Son of Adam, which was occupied by Melchizedek, because the promise of the word of God was that the corporate headship of Adam would no longer be able to support that office now occupied by Melchizedek. And Hebrews was saying that the Levitical priesthood would also come in its time to testify to this being what Abraham did in his act of paying tithes to Melchizedek.

It will follow, therefore, that while the tribe of Levi could hold the place of the priesthood of the firstborn for all the tribes of Israel, the tribe of Levi could do this only for a time. The time would have to come when there was a fulfillment to the promise that the firstborn of Abraham would be fulfilled and all those designated firstborn of Abraham would inherit the world on behalf of their tribes. For Israel was composed by Hashem as the twelve tribes born of Jacob. And therefore the firstborn of the one tribe appointed by God from among the chosen branch of Adam with its twelve branches would be the Kohen Gadol among all the firstborn of Abraham, Isaac and Israel. If this were to be Levi, it would have to be Levi in its own right, not in the role of holding the place of the other tribes while they were under chastisement.

Indeed, when the chastisement of the firstborn of the tribes for the sin of the golden calf is seen to be completed, the role of the tribe of Levi in holding the testimony on behalf of all the tribes to the redemption of the position of the firstborn of Adam, in accordance to the promises made to Abraham, will come to an end and the firstborn priesthood of Levi will be alongside of that of the other tribes once more, instead of as a placeholder for them. Then it will be revealed to all, as it is now revealed to the remnant, that the appointed tribe is the tribe of Judah, as it was prophesied from the beginning, and Moshiah comes to fulfill the role of the Kohen Gadol of the priesthood of the firstborn of Israel.

Hebrews 7.10

For he was yet in the loins of his father, when Melchizedek met him.

[Psa 110:4]

As said above, Abraham, needing another witness to second him in laying claim to the office of the Son of Adam for the sake of the hope of Moshiah, would find, in due time, the faithful tribe of Levi to give this seconding witness.

Hebrews 7.11

If therefore perfection were by the Levitical priesthood, (for under it the people received the law,) what further need was there that another priest should rise after the order of Melchizedek, and not be called after the order of Aaron?

Hebrews speaks here to those in the synagogue of the Hebrews who had become so used to the Levitical priesthood that they had forgotten that it was given the role in the beginning of holding the place of the priesthood of the firstborn of all the tribes of Israel. It might be that they had never been taught clearly that this right of the priesthood of the firstborn had been taken by the word of promise of Hashem from Adam and given to Abraham, and that the narrative concerning Abraham and Melchizedek recorded the way the transfer of the office took place. The order of Melchizedek is, then, the true and original order of redemption and the inheritance of the world to which Abraham laid claim by paying tithes to Melchizedek. And the order of Aaron is the order of the priesthood holding the place for the reinstatement of the twelve firstborn heads of the twelve tribes of Israel.

Hebrews 7.12

For the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law.

That is to say, not a change in that of the Torah which is eternal and unchangeable, but a change in the way it is applied. For when the tribes sinned with the golden calf, then Hashem changed the way the Torah was applied with respect to the priesthood in order to bring about a redemptive chastisement among the tribes. And now that this chastisement is being revealed as complete, the change is removed by a change back to what was the way of application before the change.

Hebrews 7.13

For he of whom these things are spoken pertain to another tribe, of which no man gave attendance at the altar.

No one gave attendance at the altar from among the twelve tribes, except for the tribe of Levi, for so long as the chastisement of the tribes for the sin of the golden calf was in force.

Hebrews 7.14

For it is evident that our Lord sprang out of Judah; of which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning priesthood. 

Moshe spoke nothing concerning to the duties of the priesthood before the sin of the golden calf, therefore when he spoke of these duties he spoke of them concerning the Levites. But now another dispensation of the history of redemption is come. Now we will see that the era of divine service to which the priesthood of the twelve tribes would have testified, had they not sinned with the golden calf, but only the tribe of Levi did testify, is not come. This is the age of the beginning of the resurrection of the whole creation from the dead.

Hebrews 7.15

And it is yet far more evident: for that after the similitude of Melchizedek there arises another priest,

...the similitude of the Torah's narrative description of Melchizedek... For the Torah desired to draw a picture of the office of the Son of Adam, as the office of the firstborn of Adam which God would claim as his own firstborn, for the sake of the redemption and re-creation of the world in justice and mercy.

Hebrews 7.16

Who is made, not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life.

The Torah incorporated a "carnal" commandment of Levi holding the place of the firstborn of all twelve tribes for a time. But Moshiah could not come out of this state of Israel but only out of a state of Israel where he first rectified this "carnal" state, so that the Torah could be applied according to its rightful spiritual design.

Hebrews 7.17

For he testifies, You art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek.

With this word is the promise stated in a perfect manner that All Israel would be saved, all the priesthood of the twelve tribes would be rectified and restored.

Hebrews 7.18

For there is verily a disannulling of the commandment going before on account of its being weak in its nature and inability fulfill God's ultimate purpose.

"The commandment" is not a term ever used to refer to the whole Torah. A specific commandment is being referred to —  what is it?

The application of the commandment of the priesthood in Israel that placed Levi in the position meant for all twelve tribes was "weak" in that it was not the thing that God had willed to happen when bringing Israel out of Egypt as his witnesses. It was unable to fulfill God's ultimate purpose  because it was not designed to bring about the full testimony to the Messianic atonement to come. It was only meant to hold the place of the priesthood of the firstborn until those whom the Torah design to fill the role of the twelve witnesses of the office of the priesthood could be restored to that office.

Hebrews 7.19

For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto God.

For the application of the Torah of which we speak, the dispensation of the chastisement, made nothing perfect but only prepared the way for the restoration of the priesthood of the twelve, which could provide a perfect testimony.

Hebrews 7.20

And inasmuch as not without an oath he was made priest:

An oath was sworn to Abraham and to Moshiah.

Hebrews 7.21

For those priests were made without an oath; but this with an oath by him that said unto him, The Lord sware and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek:

It was not necessary nor called for that there should be an oath swearing that Levi should hold the place of the priesthood of the firstborn for the twelve tribes...

But the oath sworn to Abraham was heard by the prophetic ear of the psalmist to have been sworn for Moshiah.

Hebrews 7.22

By so much was Yehoshua made a surety of a better testament.

There is by its nature a testimony given in a covenant, as will be explained. This is in the cutting of the covenant. A better testament, testimony means a new cutting of the covenant. There cannot be a different covenant for then God would be untrue to his word to Abraham in making the covenant with him that he did, and false in swearing the oath to him that he did. But the same covenant that was cut before can be cut again anew with a new testimony therein.

Hebrews 7.23

And they truly were many priests, because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death:

Now the priests of the priesthood of the firstborn of the twelve tribes would also have died, just as the priests of the Levitical priesthood died. But Hebrews wants to speak about the nature of the testimony that the Levitical priesthood was forced to give by being a priesthood that represented the chastisement of Israel for the sin of the golden calf.

Had Israel not sinned with the golden calf the priesthood of the firstborn of all the tribes, Levi included, would have only testified to the need of the coming of a Kohen Gadol that could live forever after making atonement for the corporate sin of Adam. But now that testimony could not be given in its simple purity. Now a testimony had to be given by the Levitical priesthood to the need for an atonement for not only the corporate sin committed in the headship of Adam and a rectification of the effects of that transgression, but also the need for an atonement for the sin of the golden calf and for all the sins of Israel. This seemed to formally, if not substantively, place the Levitical priesthood in a messianic position in relation to all the rest of the children of Israel. Thus the dying of one generation after another left the Levitical priesthood to seem to fall short of its apparently given work of bringing all Israel into the inheritance of the promises of redemption.

Hebrews 7.24

But this man, because he continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood.

Now, therefore, the resurrection of the one from the tribe of Judah who God bears witness to also testifies to a restoration of the priesthood of the firstborn.

Hebrews 7.25

Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.

...intercession for them.

The message has changed now. Hebrews is no longer talking about the relationship between the two forms of priesthood, firstborn or Levitical. The subject of the message now is the relationship is soley the nature of Moshiah's personal priesthood.

The intercessions referred to also correspond to the gifts he offers in the heavenly sanctuary, which are applications of the one eternal atonement he made for Israel.

Hebrews 7.26

For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens;

Nothing else could have answered to our need.

Hebrews 7.27

Who does not need, as those high priests, to daily offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people's: for this he did once, when he offered up himself.

The Levitical offerings were the offerings of the priesthood of the firstborn of Israel. In that priesthood all sacrifices apart from the sacrifice of the offering of the rectified Kohen Gadol were sacrifices of confession. They all came to the altar as sacrifices to say that Israel was in need not of a limited measure of atonement, as these sacrifices themselves might provide, but of one eternal corporate atonement. Even the atoning sacrifices of the firstborn high priest, which was alway preformed by the firstborn High Priest of the tribe of Levi in its own turn and to fill in for the others in their turns, was of the same nature, coming to say through its own limitations that a greater atoning sacrifice was needed. Thus he came to his own. And when he did come he provided that atonement that all the sacrifices called for.

Hebrews 7.28

For the Torah law makes men high priests which have infirmity; but the word of the oath, which was since the law, makes the son, who is consecrated for evermore.

For the Torah as first it would have been given for the firstborn of the twelve tribes, and indeed, as it was given after the sin of the golden calf, was then only given as a testimony to the eternal High Priest of the firstborn of Judah who would come.