A puzzle to many, Melchizedek is only mentioned three times in the Bible. The first mention of his name occurs after the first war is recorded, and Abraham paid tithed to him. He is also mentioned in a prophetic way in the book of Psalms, and the book of Hebrews Melchizedek is used to show how Christ fulfilled prophecy by being both priest and king.
The question “Who is Melchizedek?” can not be correctly answered with one hundred percent confidence simply because the Bible does not give many clues on how to answer it. One source was so bold as to state that it is impossible to identify who he was “because (Hebrews 7:3) was not intended to be used as a way of identifying who Melchizedek was.”1 The three most popular answers today are that he was some type of angel or heavenly being, that he was just a man, that he was a type of Christ, or Christ himself. The belief that Melchizedek may be an angel comes from the Genesis account which states that he had no genealogy. (no father, or mother) This belief does not take into account however, that it also states that Melchizedek had no beginning or end, while angels have a definite beginning since…show more content… When the Israelites had a king it was forbidden for him to be a priest as well as king and those who tried to perform priestly duties were severely punished.14 This also provided a dilemma when Christ was pronounced to be both High Priest and King of Kings since obtaining both offices went against what was taught. The priesthood that Melchizedek belonged to was not supported through his genealogy since he had none that was recorded, and there was no Law written to begin one or even how he would have performed sacrifices, if he did at all. Without all of this Melchizedek was still considered a righteous man and priest to none other than the “Most High
