Our Great High Priest (2)
Melchizedek is identified as “king of Salem” and “priest of God Most High [El Elyon]” (v. 18). His name, Malkî-ṣedek, means “king of righteousness” (Hb. 7:2); the language “king of Salem,” melek šālēm, means literally “king of peace” (Hb. 7:2). By this parallel language between his name and his city there is an association of “righteousness” and “peace” (Salem)
“Salem” (šālēm) is widely recognized as an ancient name for Jerusalem (yĕrûšālayim) in Jewish tradition; “Salem” appears in parallel with “Zion,” referring to the temple at Jerusalem (Ps 76:2[3]).
The expression “bread and wine” refers to daily but luxurious provisions (Judg 19:19; Eccl 10:19; also Lam 2:12). That they were refreshment for returning warriors makes sense (e.g., Judg 8:5; 2 Sam 16:1–2). Although both elements were part of Israel’s worship offered to God (e.g., Lev 2:4–16; 23:13; Num 28:14) and later functioned symbolically at the Lord’s table (1 Cor 11:26), there is no overt cultic meaning attached to them here.
From Qumran Cave Eleven, 11QMelch (or 11Q13) presents (ca. 100 B.C.–A.D. 100?) an eschatological exegesis of biblical texts in which Melchizedek is depicted as an angel or a superior heavenly being, perhaps the archangel Michael. Melchizedek as God’s instrument makes atonement for the righteous and exacts judgment upon the wicked (Belial). The majority of Jewish interpretations, however, maintained that he was a man but an especially anointed priest, even high priest before God Most High (Philo, Abr 235; Tgs. Onq., Neof.). Josephus asserted that he founded Jerusalem as its first king and priest
Christian interpretation rests on Hebrews 5–7, which draws on Melchizedek as the point of contrast with the Levitical order. The writer to the Hebrews may well have assumed that his readers believed Melchizedek was the first priest and hence had no genealogical requirements
The author’s goal in Hebrews 7 is to establish the nature of Jesus’ priesthood and prove biblically and theologically that it is superior to the Levitical order
Within the confines of these three verses, we are told eight facts about the identity of Melchizedek. He was (1) king of Salem, (2) priest of God most high, (3) his name means “king of righteousness,” (4) he is also “king of Salem,” which means “king of peace,” (5) he is “without father or mother,” (6) he is “without genealogy,” (7) he is “without beginning of days or end of life,” and (8) like the Son of God he remains a priest forever.