The Righteous King of Salem and Priest of the Most High.

A study on how Melchizedek restores the older tradition of the 1st Temple

And Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was priest of God Most High.  And he blessed him and said,

“Blessed be Abram by God Most High,

maker of heaven and earth;

 and blessed be God Most High,

who has delivered your enemies into your hand!”

And Abram gave him a tenth of everything

Catholic Biblical Association (Great Britain), The Holy Bible: Revised Standard Version, Catholic Edition (New York: National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA, 1994), Ge 14:18–20.

Melchizedek is a shady figure in the Bible. He is only mentioned twice, once in Genesis 14 and again in Psalm 110. Genesis only provides a brief introduction, when Abram meets with him after his victory over Chedorlaomer (Gen 14:1-12). The name, Melchizedek, means “My King is Righteousness”. There are no more further details about Melchizedek’s identity. In the short passage above, we can see that he served as a high priest to El Elyon. He gives Abram bread and wine and blesses him. In return, Abram provides a tenth of everything he owns, as an offering for the high priest’s blessing.

The connection with the Davidic dynasty and Melchizedek in Psalm 110, is an obvious way of reinforcing its political legitimacy, which is evident in the way Melchizedek is the high priest of El Elyon, and his blessing he bestows on Abraham. This blessing turns Abram’s victory into a sign that God delivers on his promises. Thus, Melchizedek becomes an anchor for the Davidic dynasty. Psalm 110 also provides an eschatological twist in the way it reads: “You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek”. This verse plays on the faith in God’s promise to redeem Israel and restore the rightful dynasty. David’s line shall be forever after the order of Melchizedek.

From these two small passages, we come to a plethora of literature that develops on this obscure priest king of ancient Salem. The first is from Qumran fragment 1QapGen, which is called the Genesis Apocryphon. This fragment was found in Cave 1. It is a mixture of Targum, Midrash, rewritten Bible and autobiography. Its relationship with Jubilees is generally accepted, but the question is if this manuscript was dependent upon Jubilees or vice versa is contested. I would like to spend a bit of time on these texts, simply because they are fascinating. They help flesh out the narratives from Genesis 6 and Abraham’s journey. Moreover, we can get glimpses of a much older tradition, gleaning through the narrative. So without further delay, let us dive into the text!

II Behold, I thought then within my heart that conception was (due) to the Watchers and the Holy Ones … and to the Giants … and my heart was troubled within me because of this child. Then I, Lamech, approached Bathenosh [my] wife in haste and said to her, ‘… by the Most High, the Great Lord, the King of all the worlds and Ruler of the Sons of Heaven, until you tell me all things truthfully, if … Tell me [this truthfully] and not falsely … by the King of all the worlds until you tell me truthfully and not falsely.’

Then Bathenosh my wife spoke to me with much heat [and] … said, ‘O my brother, O my lord, remember my pleasure … the lying together and my soul within its body. [And I tell you] all things truthfully.’

My heart was then greatly troubled within me, and when Bathenosh my wife saw that my countenance had changed … Then she mastered her anger and spoke to me saying, ‘O my lord, O my [brother, remember] my pleasure! I swear to you by the Holy Great One, the King of [the heavens] … that this seed is yours and that [this] conception is from you. This fruit was planted by you … and by no stranger or Watcher or Son of Heaven … [Why] is your countenance thus changed and dismayed, and why is your spirit thus distressed … I speak to you truthfully.’

Then I, Lamech, ran to Methuselah my father, and [I told] him all these things. [And I asked him to go to Enoch] his father for he would surely learn all things from him. For he was beloved, and he shared the lot [of the angels], who taught him all things. And when Methuselah heard [my words … he went to] Enoch his father to learn all things truthfully from him … his will.

He went at once to Parwain and he found him there … [and] he said to Enoch his father, ‘O my father, O my lord, to whom I … And I say to you, lest you be angry with me because I come here …

XII … in the mountains of Ararat (HWRRT). And afterwards I descended … I and my sons and the sons [of my sons] … for the destruction was great on the earth … after the Flood. To my first son [Shem] was born, to begin with, a son, Arpachsad, two years after the Flood. [And] all the sons of Shem, all of them, [were Ela]m, and Ashur, Arpachsad, Lud and Aram, and five daughters. [And the sons of Ham: Kush and Misrai]n and Put and Canaan, and seven daughters. And the sons of Japhet: Gomer and Magog and Madai and Yavan [and Tu]bal and Mashok and Tiras, and four daughters. [And] I began, I and all my sons, to fill the land and I planted a big vineyard on Mount Lubar and in the fourth year it produced wine for me … [And] when the first festival c[ame], on the first day of the first festival in the … month … I opened this jar (?) and I began to drink on the first day of the fifth year … On this day I summoned my sons, my grandsons and all our wives and their daughters, and we assembled together and we went … and I blessed the Lord of Heaven, the Most High God, the Great Holy One who saved us from perdition …

XIX … And I said, ‘Thou art …’ … ‘… until now you have not come to the Holy Mountain.’

Geza Vermes, The Dead Sea Scrolls in English, Revised and extended 4th ed. (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1995), 293–294.

So here we see the Watchers and the Nephilim (Giants). Who are the Watchers and the Holy Ones?

The Watchers are spiritual beings. The book of Enoch elaborates on the Genesis 6 narrative, which speaks about the sons of God, who descend from their appointed station and copulate with human women, which results in the creation of the hybrid Nephilim. In the Enochian tradition, the Watchers are angelic beings who rebel against God. They devise a plan and bind themselves with oaths and curses as to not alter their devious inclinations. The oldest non-biblical attestations are probably those in the Enochic ‘Book of the Watchers’ dating from sometime in the third century BCE. There are indications that the story as found in 1 Enoch combines older sources, one of which names the leader Semihazah and focuses on the sin of illicit mingling with human women, while the other names him Asael or Azazel and emphasizes the sin of illicit revelation.

They descended upon Mt Hermon and took human wives. Their offspring, the Nephilim, cause havoc upon the earth. The Watchers also teach humankind illicit arts, astrology, making spells, and weapons for war. The angels taught humanity mysteries, which they could not understand, and this then led to the flood event. The Earth cries out to God about the evil that has been created by these rebellious angels. The Lord then sends his princes, the arch-angels, to imprison the Watchers in Tartarus, which we can read about in the epistles 2nd Peter and Jude.

There is another variant of this story found in the Book of Jubilees, their initial descent was to teach humanity good things. However, they subsequently become corrupted when they see the beautiful daughters of men. Jubilees states that the leader of the Watchers is called Mastema, he persuades God to let one tenth of the evil spirits to remain with him on earth to corrupt humanity further and lead them astray (Jubilees 3:15; 5:1).

To be clear, not all “Watchers” are fallen angels.

The name “Watchers” is not confined to the fallen angels, however. Several passages in 1 Enoch speak of angels “who watch” or “who sleep not”: 20:1 (the four archangels); 39:12–13; 71:7. The Aramaic עירא is also found at 1 Enoch 22:6 with reference to Raphael, and again at 93:2 (plural) where the Greek and Ethiopic versions have “angel”. In 2 Enoch 18 (Slavonic Enoch) the “Grigori” (ἐγρήγοροι) are located in the fifth heaven. While “200 princes” of them have fallen, the remainder resume the heavenly liturgy. 2 Enoch is usually dated to the late first century CE, but some scholars place it much later. The Hebrew 3 Enoch (Sefer Hekalot) which dates from the fifth or sixth century discusses the “four great princes called Watchers and holy ones” in chap. 28, with specific reference to Daniel 4. Watchers and holy ones are frequently mentioned together, e.g., 1 Enoch 12:2; 22:6; 93:2 (Aramaic).

The Watchers are, in my opinion, the spiritual sons of God the Most High, which includes elohim, angels, seraphs, and cherubim. The Watchers are heavenly beings, who were venerated in the pre-exilic Jerusalem cult. However, they were deliberately suppressed, in the Masoretic translation. The beliefs of protecting deities or angels was widely known in the ancient world and re-appears in Daniel 10–12. Some biblical sources that propose the idea of angelic beings as ‘watchful ones’, but with different terminology. This is evident in Zechariah 4.10, which depicts the seven “eyes of the LORD, which range through the whole earth”. Another biblical passage is found in Psalm 121.4: “Behold, he neither slumbers nor sleeps, the guardian of Israel”. The guardian/prince of Israel is sometimes referred to as Michael or Yahweh. The “angels who keep watch” (1 Enoch 20:1) share this divine characteristic, and the class of heavenly beings known as Watchers may have been named in this way. The Watchers convey divine messages to earth.

Looking at the wider Ancient Near East and Hellenistic worlds, we can identify a similar interest in intermediary beings like the Watchers. In Hesiod’s ‘Works and Days’, 252–53: “Zeus has thrice ten thousand spirits, watchers of mortal men, and these keep watch on judgements and deeds of wrong as they roam, clothed in mist, all over the earth” (The word for watchers here, φύλακες, is not the same as that used in Daniel or Enoch). Another interesting parallel to the Watchers is found in the Phoenician History of Philo Byblios, which refers to the ‘Zophasemin’, which is translated as ‘heavenly observers’. In addition, one could also draw parallels to “the many-eyed Amesha Spentas” of Zoroastrianism and the planetary gods of the Chaldeans in Diodorus Siculus 2.30.

As we saw in the later books of the Enochian tradition, the Watchers were referred to as the heavenly princes. This is an interesting intersection because Melchizedek was also considered to be a heavenly prince in 2nd Temple literature. Geza Vermes (1995) writes in his introduction concerning the Melchizedek scroll found in Qumran that;

“A striking first-century BCE document, composed of thirteen fragments from Cave 11 and centred on the mysterious figure of Melchizedek, was first published by A. S. van der Woude in 1965. It takes the form of an eschatological midrash in which the proclamation of liberty to the captives at the end of days (Isa. 61:1) is understood as being part of the general restoration of property during the year of Jubilee (Lev. 25:13), seen in the Bible (Deut. 15:2) as a remission of debts.

The heavenly deliverer is Melchizedek. Identical with the archangel Michael, he is the head of the ‘sons of Heaven’ or ‘gods of Justice’ and is referred to as elohim and el. The same terminology occurs in the Songs for the Holocaust of the Sabbath. These Hebrew words normally mean ‘God’, but in certain specific contexts Jewish tradition also explains elohim as primarily designating a ‘judge’. Here Melchizedek is portrayed as presiding over the final Judgement and condemnation of his demonic counterpart, Belial/Satan, the Prince of Darkness, elsewhere also called Melkireshaʿ (cf. above, pp. 185–6, 311). The great act of deliverance is expected to occur on the Day of Atonement at the end of the tenth Jubilee cycle.

This manuscript sheds valuable light not only on the Melchizedek figure of the Epistle to the Hebrews 7, but also on the development of the messianic concept in the New Testament and early Christianity.”

Geza Vermes, The Dead Sea Scrolls in English, Revised and extended 4th ed. (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1995), 360.

The term ‘elohim’ can be translated into a number of ways depending on the context. Elohim has its linguistic root in the name “El” (אֵל, el). El is the Father and creator deity, who is seen across the ANE. In numerous instances, he is referred to as the “ancient one” or “eternal one” and is often pictured as merciful and benign. This is reflected in the Semitic languages such as: Old Akkadian, Amorite, Ugaritic, and Hebrew. It can also be traced through Babylonian, Phoenician, and Aramaic as well (see BDB, 43–45). “El” was also the name for the god that was the head of the Canaanite pantheon, a discovery made in Ugaritic texts starting in 1929. This was also the case in Old Akkadian and Amorite texts (Chafer, “Biblical Theism,” 396). Within the Hebrew tradition, the distinction between El and Yahweh becomes confusing, which is largely the result of the Deuteronomist theological vision. In the old 1st Temple period, before the Josiah reforms; Yahweh was the prince of Israel. He is the Angel of the Lord, and becomes embodied in the divine priest-king role of the old Temple Cult.

Elohim is also used to refer to the foreign gods, such as the gods of Egypt in Exodus 12:12. This term is also applied to angels and other heavenly beings, as we saw in the case of the Watchers. In Job 16, the elohim are called the sons of God or the sons of the Mighty. In other rare contexts, elohim is also applied to the role of rulers or judges (Exodus 21:6, 22:7-8).

The Melchizedek scroll portrays the Messiah as a priest-king, the one who comes in the name of the Lord will be no other than Melchizedek himself;

And concerning that which He said, In [this] year of Jubilee [each of you shall return to his property (Lev. 25:13); and likewise, And this is the manner of release:] every creditor shall release that which he has lent [to his neighbour. He shall not exact it of his neighbour and his brother], for God’s release [has been proclaimed] (Deut. 15:2). [And it will be proclaimed at] the end of days concerning the captives as [He said, To proclaim liberty to the captives (Isa. 61:1). Its interpretation is that He] will assign them to the Sons of Heaven and to the inheritance of Melchizedek; f[or He will cast] their [lot] amid the po[rtions of Melchize]dek, who will return them there and will proclaim to them liberty, forgiving them [the wrong-doings] of all their iniquities.

And this thing will [occur] in the first week of the Jubilee that follows the nine Jubilees. And the Day of Atonement is the e[nd of the] tenth [Ju]bilee, when all the Sons of [Light] and the men of the lot of Mel[chi]zedek will be atoned for. [And] a statute concerns them [to prov]ide them with their rewards. For this is the moment of the Year of Grace for Melchizedek. [And h]e will, by his strength, judge the holy ones of God, executing judgement as it is written concerning him in the Songs of David, who said, ELOHIM has taken his place in the divine council; in the midst of the gods he holds judgement (Psalms 82:1). And it was concerning him that he said, (Let the assembly of the peoples) return to the height above them; EL (god) will judge the peoples (Psalms 7:7–8). As for that which he s[aid, How long will you] judge unjustly and show partiality to the wicked? Selah (Psalms 82:2), its interpretation concerns Satan and the spirits of his lot [who] rebelled by turning away from the precepts of God to … And Melchizedek will avenge the vengeance of the judgements of God … and he will drag [them from the hand of] Satan and from the hand of all the sp[irits of] his [lot]. And all the ‘gods [of Justice’] will come to his aid [to] attend to the de[struction] of Satan. And the height is … all the sons of God … this … This is the day of [Peace/Salvation] concerning which [God] spoke [through Isa]iah the prophet, who said, [How] beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of the messenger who proclaims peace, who brings good news, who proclaims salvation, who says to Zion: Your ELOHIM [reigns] (Isa. 52:7). Its interpretation; the mountains are the prophets … and the messenger is the Anointed one of the spirit, concerning whom Dan[iel] said, [Until an anointed one, a prince (Dan. 9:25)] … [And he who brings] good [news], who proclaims [salvation]: it is concerning him that it is written … [To comfort all who mourn, to grant to those who mourn in Zion] (Isa. 61:2–3). To comfort [those who mourn: its interpretation], to make them understand all the ages of t[ime] … In truth … will turn away from Satan … by the judgement[s] of God, as it is written concerning him, [who says to Zion]; your ELOHIM reigns. Zion is …, those who uphold the Covenant, who turn from walking [in] the way of the people. And your ELOHIM is [Melchizedek, who will save them from] the hand of Satan.

As for that which He said, Then you shall send abroad [the loud] trump[et] in the [seventh] m[on]th (Lev. 25:9) …

Geza Vermes, The Dead Sea Scrolls in English, Revised and extended 4th ed. (Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1995), 360–362.

There are a number of fascinating themes within this scroll. This Messianic figure is a heavenly being, who will take his place on the judgement-seat and will judge the rebellious elohim (Psalm 82). Moreover, he shall atone for the sins of men. He shall proclaim the good news and inaugurate a new age. This new age will be one of salvation, he shall comfort all who mourn and will save humanity from the hand of Satan. When I read this, the life of Jesus and his mission seem to fit in perfect unison. I see allusions to this scroll in the Gospel of Luke, where Jesus proclaims that Isaiah 49 and 61 are fulfilled. Jesus has come to bind the strong man and plunder his goods. Meaning that he will defeat the powers of darkness and release those trapped in Hades.

In The Epistle to the Hebrews, the author connects Jesus to the priest-king figure of Melchizedek. God designated Jesus to be the new high priest. Every high priest is to act on behalf of men in relation to God. He offers gifts and sacrifices for his own sins and the sins of the people. Jesus, however, is a divine being, one who was begotten by the Father before the creation of the cosmos (John 1). The epistle goes on to reflect on the historical Melchizedek, and narrates how the king of righteousness was without father or mother, and that he has neither beginning nor end. He is an eternal priest.

The one who comes in the likeness of Melchizedek is contrasted with the former high priests who took their role without an oath. However, the new and eternal high priest is addressed with an oath: “The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind, ‘thou art a priest forever’”. The former priests were many because they were mortal and died. Whilst the new high priest is eternal. This new high priest is blameless, whilst the others were laden with the weight of sin. The old priests had to offer sacrifices daily, whilst the sacrifice of the new high priest is an offering that is done once and for all. This new age will have no need for further burnt offerings because the work is finished upon the cross.

Margaret Barker’s Temple Mysticism argues that “The Qumran Melchizedek text looked for the return of ‘teachers who had been kept hidden and secret’—who were they?—and Psalm 110, the Melchizedek psalm, is a much used text in the New Testament but also one of the most damaged passages in the Hebrew scriptures. It describes the birth of a Melchizedek figure in the holy of holies, someone who was invited to sit on the throne and was the divine Son. Jesus was proclaimed as this ‘Melchizedek’ (Heb. 7:11), which may explain why parts of the Melchizedek psalm are now opaque. Mary was proclaimed as his heavenly Mother, and the throne was remembered as her symbol.”

The holy of holies in the 2nd Temple was empty. The cherub throne was missing, Josephus wrote that there was nothing in this room, which was screened by the veil. The return of the Messiah would see the missing furnishings returned to the new temple. This would mean that the ark, the fire, cherubim, the Spirit and the menorah, would all be restored. The menorah is the tree of life that is seen in Revelation 22:1-5.

The 1st Temple had the tree and the chariot throne together in the holy of holies. Moreover, there was the cult of the angels, as well as the anointing oil that was used for anointing the high priests and kings. The Deuteronomists and Josiah’s reforms removed everything. They burned the chariot throne and the tree. Furthermore, they replaced Wisdom with the Law. The Enochian tradition recalls this time, by reiterating how Wisdom had been abandoned, and that the priests had lost their ability to receive visions. Ezekiel recounts this time when he saw the chariot throne, the Spirit, and the fire leaving the holy of holies.

Thus, the new Melchizedek not only proclaims the good news, but he restores the older faith. When Christ died on the cross, the temple veil was torn in two from top to bottom, which revealed the empty holy of holies. The new temple is now a temple not made by human hands. The secret and hidden wisdom is now revealed in Christ and his Mother. The Lord and the Lady are united again. The cult of the angels can be seen in many of the ancient Christian prayers, the cult of the saints is the new divine council. For all who follow Christ will become judges of the angels. Paul speaks of this in 1 Corinthians 6:2-3. In Derek Brown’s (2013) commentary, he states that;

Paul’s main point in 1 Cor 6:2–3 is simple: Judging ordinary matters among fellow Christians should not be a problem for those destined for the high calling and responsibility of judging much greater things (see Ciampa and Rosner 2010, 228). To make this point, Paul rhetorically asks the Corinthians whether they know that the saints will judge “the world” (ton kosmon) and the “angels” (angelous). This statement is perplexing for modern readers, and it was probably surprising for the Corinthians. In what sense does Paul think believers will judge the world? According to Ciampa and Rosner (2010, 227–28), the OT serves as the source of Paul’s theology of final judgment. In particular, they suggest that Paul’s conviction represents a Christian appropriation of the Jewish belief that God’s people will participate in judgment in the final days. This belief is evident in OT passages such as Dan 7:22, but it is also found in the writings of the Second Temple Jewish period (e.g., Wisdom of Solomon 3:7–8; Jubilees 24:29; 1 Enoch 1:9, 38) and the NT (e.g., Matt 19:28; Jude 14–15; Rev 2:26–27). Verbrugge (2008, 306–07) thinks Paul is referring to an eschatological judgment rather than judgment in the present (see also Soards 2011, 122). Regarding the use of the term kosmos (“world”), Barnett (2000, 90) argues that Paul means the people of the world—and in particular those outside the church—not the physical world.

The idea of judging angels also seems to be rooted in the eschatology of apocalyptic Judaism (e.g., 1 Enoch 1:10–12; on this issue, see Fee 1987, 234–36; Fitzmyer 2008, 252). There is also some debate as to which angels 1 Cor 6:3 refers to (note the anarthrous angelous). Fitzmyer (2008, 252) thinks that both good and evil angels will be judged, whereas Ciampa and Rosner (2010, 228–29) argue that good angels will join the saints in the judgment of evil (or fallen) angels. Thiselton (2000, 430–32) notes two additional interpretations of the identity of the “angels” in 1 Cor 6:3. The NT also mentions the participation of angels in the eschatological judgment (see Matt 13:41; 16:27; 25:31

Derek R. Brown and E. Tod Twist, 1 Corinthians, ed. John D. Barry and Douglas Mangum, Lexham Research Commentaries (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2013), 1 Co 6:2–3

Sola Scriptura (Scripture alone) has caused many problems. This is because Luther only had the Masoretic Text at his disposal. Many of the Messianic prophecies were removed by the Masoretes, which is understandable, especially after the destruction of Jerusalem in 70CE. Thankfully, we now have access to many older versions of the Bible like the Dead Sea Scrolls, which, when cross-referenced with the Septuagint and the MT, we can see the changes made by later scribes.

It is demotivating to see how many Christians seem almost afraid to read texts outside the canon, even though these texts support the Messianic themes identified in the figure of Jesus. These non-canonical texts have only deepened my faith in Jesus. Michael Heiser was once asked if he thought 1 Enoch should be canonized. I agree with his response. He said that it does not need to be canonized because even though it is not canon it does not mean that it is not relevant. We can see how the apostles drew on Enoch, just as Paul used pagan philosophy to convert the pagans in Greece. There is no need to be afraid, Jesus himself taught us not to fear. It is the Law that creates fear and condemns, whilst it is Christ and Wisdom that gives life and mercy.

This article has only scratched the surface of Temple Mysticism and Melchizedek; it could easily be a 10,000-word thesis. But I hope that it can spark a spirit of curiosity for those who have yet to read the DSS and other non-canonical texts. There is a whole world out there to be explored. Hidden teachings to be discovered. Wisdom is shouting out in the streets, but no one is listening to her. I pray that Wisdom may guide you in your own studies!

Margaret Barker, Temple Mysticism: An Introduction (London: SPCK, 2011), 98–100.