to whom also Abraham divided a tenth part of all (being first, by interpretation, “king of righteousness”, and then also “king of Salem”, which means “king of peace”,
ExplanationCommentary
Verse 2. King of justice, according to the signification of the word Melchisedech, and of peace, signified by the place Salem, of which he was king. By Salem is commonly expounded Jerusalem, though S. Jerom thinks it was a town in Samaria afterwards called Sichem. This king was also a priest of the Most High; that is of the true God. He blessed Abraham, after he had defeated Chodorlahomor and the other kings; (Genesis 14) and Abraham gave him the tithes of all things which he had taken from his enemies. He is said (verse 3) to have been without father, without mother, without any genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, inasmuch as we have no account in the Scripture of these particulars. He is said in Genesis to have brought out, inasmuch as he was a priest, that is, to have offered up a sacrifice to God of bread and wine. The apostle here shews two things, that Melchisedech was greater than Abraham, and that he is a figure of Christ, who is a priest for ever, according to the order of Melchisedech. Psalms 109:4. Witham.