But Melchizedek, who did not trace his descent from Levi, collected a tenth from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises.
Parallel translations
- WEB but he whose genealogy is not counted from them has accepted tithes from Abraham, and has blessed him who has the promises.
- KJV But he whose descent is not counted from them received tithes of Abraham, and blessed him that had the promises.
- NKJV but he whose genealogy is not derived from them received tithes from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises.
- NASB But the one whose genealogy is not traced from them collected a tenth from Abraham and blessed the one who had the promises.
- NLT But Melchizedek, who was not a descendant of Levi, collected a tenth from Abraham. And Melchizedek placed a blessing upon Abraham, the one who had already received the promises of God.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Melchizedek, though not descended from Levi, received tithes from Abraham and blessed the man who held God's promises. He stands above even the bearer of the promises.
Overview
Unlike the Levites who tithe within their own lineage, Melchizedek, an outsider to that line, received Abraham's tithe and pronounced blessing on him. Since Abraham held God's covenant promises, Melchizedek's blessing of him signals his superior standing. This advances the argument that Melchizedek's order surpasses the Levitical priesthood.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- Rom 4:13For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world was not given through the law, but through the righteousness that comes by faith.
- Gen 17:4–8“As for Me, this is My covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations.
- Gen 13:14–17After Lot had departed, the LORD said to Abram, “Now lift up your eyes from the place where you are, and look to the north and south and east and west,
- Heb 7:3–4Without father or mother or genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, like the Son of God, he remains a priest for all time.
- Heb 11:17By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac on the altar. He who had received the promises was ready to offer his one and only son,
- Rom 9:4the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption as sons; theirs the divine glory and the covenants; theirs the giving of the law, the temple worship, and the promises.
- Gen 22:17–18I will surely bless you, and I will multiply your descendants like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will possess the gates of their enemies.
- Gen 12:2I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.
- Gen 14:19–20and he blessed Abram and said: “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth,
- Gal 3:16The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say, “and to seeds,” meaning many, but “and to your seed,” meaning One, who is Christ.
- Heb 6:13–15When God made His promise to Abraham, since He had no one greater to swear by, He swore by Himself,
- Acts 3:25And you are sons of the prophets and of the covenant God made with your fathers when He said to Abraham, ‘Through your offspring all the families of the earth will be blessed.’
- Heb 7:1This Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of God Most High. He met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him,
- Gen 12:13Please say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake, and on account of you my life will be spared.”
- Heb 11:13All these people died in faith, without having received the things they were promised. However, they saw them and welcomed them from afar. And they acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Hebrews is sustained worship of Christ: better than angels, Moses, and the priests; the great High Priest after Melchizedek who by one sacrifice perfects forever those he saves.
How Hebrews 7:6 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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