Melchizedek

In the Bible, Melchizedek (/mɛlˈkɪzədɛk/, Biblical Hebrew: מַלְכִּי־צֶדֶק‎, romanized: malkī-ṣeḏeq, 'king of righteousness,' 'my king is righteousness,' or ‘my king is Zedek’), also transliterated Melchisedech or Malki Tzedek, was the king of Salem and priest of El Elyon (often translated as 'most high God'). He is first mentioned in Genesis 14:18–20, where he brings out bread and wine and then blesses Abram and El Elyon.

In Christianity, according to the Epistle to the Hebrews, Jesus is identified as "High priest forever in the order of Melchizedek", and so Jesus assumes the role of High Priest once and for all. Chazalic literature – specifically Targum Jonathan, Targum Yerushalmi, and the Babylonian Talmud – presents his name (מלכי־צדק‎) as a nickname for Shem.

Joseph Blenkinsopp has suggested that the story of Melchizedek is an informal insertion into the Genesis narration, possibly inserted in order to give validity to the priesthood and tithes connected with the Second Temple. It has also been conjectured that the suffix “-zedek” may have been or become a reference to a Canaanite deity worshipped in pre-Israelite Jerusalem.^: 56–60 An Ugaritic reference older than 12th century BCE to a god named Ṣaduq ('righteousness') has also been found, a possible forerunner of the inclusion of Zedek in personal names. Zedek probably personified the justice function of the sun god Shamash, a deity considered the possible tutelary deity of Jerusalem.