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Editorial
Melchizedek is the object of study that occupied the author of the article that starts
to this magazine Its purpose is to expose the figure of this king mentioned in the Old
Testament that appears typologically in the Epistle to the Hebrews, and that is enlightened
nothing for the testimony of the umran manuscripts.
It is followed by a second investigation whose substrate is the Epistle to the Hebrews.
On this occasion, Karl Boskamp analyzes the concept of mediation as it was operated on
through Jesus, from the perspective of this epistle and its veterinary roots.
The third article opens the doors to the air of the Protestant Reformation. His self-
res take care of the period corresponding to the reign of Carlos V and show the que-
act as prominent biblists, among them Casiodoro de Reina and Cipriano Valera.
This section of DavarLogos closes with a work that belongs to theology
pastoral. Crisis, migration and refugees are terms linked to sociology.
They have brought about a remarkable change in the paradigm that has guided the cum-
mission sheet. According to the author, the new situation gave rise to a new
concept: glocalization.
Rafael Osvaldo Paredes
Director DavarLogos
Rector
Mag. Horacio Rizzo
Academic Vice President
Mag. Gabriel Pérez Schulz
Economic Vice Chancellor
Cr. Edgardo Heinze
General Secretary
Cra. Nilde Mayer de Luz
Secretary of Science and Technology
Dr. Fabio Pacheco
Extension Secretary
Mag. Horacio Casali
Faculty of Health Sciences
Dean: Dr. Milton Mesa
School of Economics
and of the Administration
Dean: Cr. Guillermo Casali
Faculty of Humanities,
Education and Cs. Social
Dean: Dr. Fernando Aranda Fraga
Faculty of Theology
Dean: Dr. Carlos Steger
Graduate School
Director: Dr. Lauren iu Ionescu
UAP Editorial Management
Dr. Rafael Paredes
UAP authorities

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DavarLogos
2017 - Vol. XVI - No. 2
Article
DavarLogos · July – December · 2017 · Volume XVI · No. 2: 1–19
1. The gura of Melchizedek in Qumran 1
[The Figure of Melchizedek at Qumram]
Leandro Velardo
Summary
Although in the Hebrew Bible Melchizedek is mentioned only twice
(Gn 14,18-20 and Ps 110,4), in the framework of the New Testament documentary corpus the homi-
Leaving the Hebrews is the literary receptacle of an elaborate Christological construction that
it hosts as a typological protagonist this enigmatic figure. In this context, ambitious-
With exegetical clarity, this article explores the Qumranite perception of this
veterinary character estimating such references as a hermeneutical contribution
regarding the Christology of the author of Hebrews.
Keywords
Melchizedek - umran - 11Q13 - Hebrews 7 - Biblical theology - Christology
Abstract
Even though Melchizedek is only mentioned in two ocasions in the Hebrew Bible (Gen
14,18-20 and Ps 110,4), within the framework of the New Testament documentary cor-
pus, the homily to Hebrews is the literary receptacle of an elaborate Christological cons-
truction that takes this enigmatic figure as a typological protagonist. In this context, ai-
ming at exegetic clarity, this article explores the umranite perception of this Old
Testament character, regarding such references as an hermeneutic contribution in regards
to the Christology of the author of Hebrews. Key words
Key words
Melchizedek - umram - 11Q13 - Hebrews 7 - Biblical eology - Christology
Introduction
The arcane figure of Melchizedek, bearer of a distant past
tea and primal, has stimulated both the pen of Jewish authors 2
one
Paper presented on May 1, 2017 at the Sul-American Adventist Society of Teolo-
gia (Universidad Adventista del Plata, Argentina).
two
I cite, by way of example, the texts of Philo of Alexandria (20-15 BC-50 AD) and Flavio Josefo
(37/38 AD. -100 / 101 AD). In the philonic literature - I continue with slight variations the translation

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DavarLogos · July – December · 2017 · Volume XVI · No. 2: 1–19
as Christians 3 throughout history. While in the Hebrew Bible
by José María Triviño–, there are three direct references and an allusion to Melchizedek: (1) Le-
gum allegoriarum 3.79 (“Another example is Melchizedek [Μελχισ δεκ], whom God made
[πεπο ηκεν θε] king of peace [this, in effect, means 'Salem'] and his priest [ερ α αυτο],
without having previously arranged the realization of any work thereof, making it from
its origin a peaceful king and worthy of his same priesthood. It is, in effect, called 'the just king'
[καλε ται γ ρ βασιλε δ καιο]; and a king is the enemy of the despot, because the one is the author of
laws, while the other is an agent of illegality ”), (2) Legum allegoriarum 3.82 (“ More,
Offer Melchizedek [Μελχισ δεκ] instead of water came, and delo to drink pure to souls, so that
they take possession of a divine drunkenness, more sober than sobriety itself; because the
he is a priest [ερε], that is, the reason he possesses as his portion to who he is and matures over
He tall, vast and sublime thoughts, like he is 'priest of the Most High' [ψ στου στ ν
ερε]. And he says 'Most High' not because there is someone else not very tall. God is unique 'up in
heaven
and down on earth; and there is no other outside Him '; but because conceiving about God thinking
cough, not humble and low, but high, such that they transcend all greatness, beyond all
reference to matter, suggests the image of the highest of beings ”), (3) De congressu eruditio-
nis gratia 1.99 (“These considerations were what prompted the exerciser to formulate the
Guiding vote: 'From everything you give me, I will separate the tenth part for You'; and they explain
the
Oracle, preserved after the blessings for the victory led by Melchizedek
[Μελχισεδ κ], who had reached the priesthood without other teaching, by own learning
[τ ν α το αθ κα α τοδ δακτον λαχ ν ερωσ νην]. This oracle says: 'He gave him the tenth
part of all things', of the things of the senses the good perceive, of the things of speech, the good
talk about intelligence, good thinking ”). And an allusion (γα ερε το εγ στου θεου)
in (4) From Abrahamo 1,235. In the Josefian literature - I continue with slight variations the
translation of
Luis Farré–, there is an explicit mention of Melchizedek in Antiquitates Judaicae 1,179-
181 (“Abram [βρα ο] freed the sodomite captives taken by the Assyrians, also saved
to his relative Lot and he returned home in peace. The king of Sodom [Σοδο ιτ ν βασιλε] was found
with him on a site called the royal camp [πεδ ον βασιλικ ν], where he was received by the king of the
city of
Solima, Melquisédec [Μελχισεδ κ]. This name means 'just king' [βασιλε δ καιο]; and it was,
In everyone's opinion. For this reason they made him a priest of God [ερ α γεν σθαι το θεο]. Already
Solima later called it Jerusalem [εροσ υ α]. Melquisédec [Μελχισεδ κ] supplied generous-
Mind the army of Abram by giving them abundant provisions. And while they were celebrating
He praised him and praised God for submitting the enemy to his hands. ”) Added to this, in Bellum
Judaicum 6,438 (“Its first founder was a Canaanite chief [Χανανα ων δυν στη] which, in
our mother tongue [πατρ γλ σσ], was called just king [βασιλε δ καιο]; in reality
Dad was. He was the first who sacrificed God, as a priest, the first who built
the temple and called Jerusalem to the city that was previously called Solima ”) is linked, among
others
things, with the foundation of the city of Jerusalem. See, in the context of this article, the study
by William Horbury, “Josephus and 11Q13 on Melchizedek,” in Studies on the Text and Versions
of the Hebrew Bible in Honor of Robert Gordon , VTS 149, ed. Geo King Khan and Diana Lipton
(Leiden: EJ Brill, 2012), 239-252.
3
Commenting on the Christian interest in this character, Fred L. Horton points out the following: “It is
sur-
prising that the figure of Melchizedek in Hebrews received little notice in the earlier writings of
the fathers of the church, but the evidence of the written records tends to indicate that Christian
interest in Melchizedek began to develop seriously only towards the end of the second century
AD and the beginning of the third century AD ”( e Melchizedek Tradition: A Critical Exami-

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DavarLogos · July – December · 2017 · Volume XVI · No. 2: 1–19
Melchizedek is mentioned only twice (Gn 14,18-
20 4 and Ps 110.4 5 ), in the framework of the New Testament documentary corpus the
Homily to the Hebrews is the literary receptacle of an elaborate cons-
Christological seduction that welcomes this figure as the main character
enigmatic (Hb 5,6.10; 6.20; 7.1.10-11.15.17). 6
In this case, ambitious exegetical clarity, this article has
ne for the purpose of tracking and interpreting the figure of Melchizedek in context
nation of the Sources to the Fi h Century AD and in the Epistle to the Hebrews , SNTSMS 30
[Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1976], 87, for the analysis of texts see 87-114).
4
TM:
18 ‫׃ןוילע לאל ןהכ אוהו ןייו םחל איצוה םלׁש ךלמ קדצ־יכלמו‬
19 ‫׃ץראו םימׁש הנק ןוילע לאל םרבא ךורב רמאיו והכרביו‬
20 ‫׃לכמ רׂשעמ ול־ןתיו ךדיב ךירצ ןגמ־רׁשא ןוילע לא ךורבו‬
LXX:
18 κα Μελχισεδεκ βασιλε Σαλη ξ νεγκεν ρτου κα ο νον ν δ ερε το θεο το ψ στου 19
κα η γησεν τ ν Αβρα κα ε πεν Ε ογη νο Αβρα τ θε τ ψ στ, κτισεν τ ν ο ραν ν
κα τ ν γ ν, 20 κα ε ογητ θε ψιστο παρ δωκεν το χθρο σου ποχειρ ου σοι, κα
δωκεν α τ δεκ την π π ντων (JW Wevers ed., Septuagint Vetus Testamentum Graecum:
Genesis [Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1974], 165).
5
TM:
‫׃קדצ־יכלמ יתרבד־לע םלועל ןהכ־התא םחני אלו הוהי עבׁשנ‬
LXX (Ps109.4): οσεν κ ριο κα ο ετα εληθ σεται Σ ε ερε ε τ ν α να κατ τ ν τ ξιν
Μελχισεδεκ (A. Rahlfs ed., Septuagint Vetus Testamentum Graecum: Psalmi cum Odis [Göttin-
gene: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1979], 227).
6
For an informed synthesis of the Christology of Hebrews, see Richard Bauckham, “e Divini-
ty of Jesus Christ in the Epistle to the Hebrews ”, in e Epistle to the Hebrews and Christian
eology , ed. Richard Bauckham, Daniel R. Driver, Trevor A. Hart and Nathan MacDonald
(Grand Rapids, Mich .: Eerdmans, 2009), 15-36. See also Brian's interesting reading
Small, and Characterization of Jesus in the Book of Hebrews , BIS 128 (Leiden: EJ Brill, 2014).

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of the chemical literature, 7 estimating such references as a contribution
Hermeneutic regarding the theology of the author of Hebrews. 8
Ad fontes
Theological avatars demand, of course, a return to
the sources". 9 So, in this section of the study, I will stop at
11Q13 and its multiple readings to then expose some pen-
Hebrews 7.
7
On the origin of the umrán community, see Florentino García Martínez, “Origins of
Essene movement and the chemist sect, ”in The Men of Qumran. Literature, structure
social and religious conceptions , ed. Florentino García Martínez and Julio Trebolle Barrera (Madrid:
Trotta, 1993), 91-117; idem, "e Groningen Hypothesis Revisited", in e Dead Sea Scrolls
and Contemporary Culture: Proceedings of the International Conference Held at the Israel Mu-
Seum, Jerusalem (July 6-8, 2008) , STDJ 93, eds. Adolfo D. Roitman, Lawrence H. Schi man
and Shani Tzoref (Leiden: EJ Brill, 2010), 17-29, and the recent analysis by Jutta Jokiranta, Social
Identity and Sectarianism in the Qumran Mo ement, STDJ 105 (Leiden: EJ Brill, 2013). Refe-
Rent projections in the field of chemology, see Florentino García Martínez,
"Umran in the century changes and prospects after 50 years of studies , " Miscellany
Arab and Hebrew studies. Hebrew Section 55 (2006): 309-334; idem, “Rethinking the Bible:
Sixty Years of Dead Sea Scrolls Research and Beyond ”, in Authoritative Scriptures in Ancient
Judaism , JSJSup 141, ed. Mladen Popović (Leiden: EJ Brill, 2010), 19-36, and investigations
presented in the Dead Sea Scrolls in Scholarly Perspective: A History of Research , STDJ 99
(Leiden: EJ Brill, 2012), edited by Devorah Dimant.
8
As Jaime Vázquez Allegue says: “Today the origins of the
Christianity and Judaism of the time if studies on manuscripts are not taken into account
of the Dead Sea ”( The children of light and the children of darkness. The preface to the Rule of the
Commune
City of Qumran , BM 21 [Estella, Navarra: Divine Word 2000], 366). For the relationship of the
Chemology with New Testament studies see Echoes om the Caves: Qumran and the
New Testament , STDJ 85 (Leiden: EJ Brill, 2009), edited by Florentino García Martínez.
9
For the Masoretic text, I use the Hebrew Bible Stuttgartensia , ediderunt Karl Elliger et Wil-
helm Rudolph, Textum Masoreticum curavit HP Rüger, Masoram elaborativ GE Weil. 5 ed.
rev. by A. Schenker (Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellscha, 1997). In the Greek translations
of the Old Testament, I reproduce the Gottingensis Editum . For the umran manuscripts,
I use the series Disco eries in the Judaean Desert ( DJD [Clarendon]) and the edition of Flo-
Rentino García Martínez and Eibert JC Tigchelaar ed., and Dead Sea Scrolls Study Edition , 2 ed.
(Leiden-New York: EJ Brill, 1999). In the translation of these texts, I accompany the proposal
of the prominent Spanish chemist Florentino García Martínez, Textos de Qumrán , 4 ed.
(Madrid: Trotta, 1993). References to the Greek text of the New Testament correspond to
No um Testamentum Graece , edited by Eberhard Nestle, Barbara Aland, Kurt Aland, Johan-
nes Karavidopoulos, Carlo M. Martin, Bruce Metzger and Institut für Neutestamenttliche Text-
forschung, 28 rev. ed., 2 Korrigierter Druk (Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellscha, 2013 [2012]).

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1. The figure of Melchizedek in Qumran | 5
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11Q13
The semantic survey of Melchizedek in the chemical chemist literature
ja, essentially, three quotes: (a) 4Q401 XI, 3, 10 (b) 1QapGn XXII, 13-17 11
and (c) 11Q13. However, given its extension and, particularly, its content
of high theological density, 11Q13 has evolved to position itself
Like the locus classicus .
Column II of the manuscript reads:
1 [...] your God ... [...] 2 [...] And what it says: “In this jubilee year [you will return each
to the respective property ”, as it is written:“ This is] 3 the way (to do) [the
remission: every creditor will make remission of what he has lent [to his neighbor.
He will not urge his neighbor or his brother when the proclamation has been made]
Zion 4 for God. ”[His interpretation] for the last days refers to the captives,
of those who say: "To proclaim the captives liberation." And he will make prisoners 5
to his rebels [...] and of Melchizedek's inheritance, because [...] and they are the here [dad]
de Mequi] sedec, which 6 will make them return to them. He will proclaim for them freedom
tion to rid them of [the debt] of all their iniquities. And this happens [will] 7 in the
first week of the jubilee that follows the new [ve] jubilees. And the day [of the expia-
cio] nes is the end of the tenth jubilee in which it will be atoned for by all the children of
[God] and by the men of the Melchizedek lot. [And on high] he
he will pronounce [in his] favor according to his lots; because 9 is the time of the "year of grace"
for Melchizedek, to exalt [taking in the process] the saints of God for dominion
10
, "[Melqui] sedec, priest in the asamb [read of God]". Name
of Melchizedek in this fragment is a reconstruction, agreed upon by the chemologists,
from Carol Newsom. Cf. E. Eshel, H. Eshel, C. Newsom, B. Nitzan, E. Schuller and A. Yardeni eds.,
Qumran Cave 4.VI: Poetical and Liturgical Texts, Part 1 , DJD 11 (Oxford: Clarendon, 1998),
205. About 4Q401 see Carol Newsom, Songs of the Sabbath Sacri ce: A Critical Edition , HSS 27
(Atlanta: Scholars Press, 1985).
eleven
In specific terms, as is well known, the Aramaic text of 1QapGn XXII, 13-17 details
(eg ‫המע יד אשנא לוכלו םרבאל‬, "... for Abraham and for all the men that were with him") and
modifies (eg ‫התשמו לכאמ‬, “food and drink” [TM: ‫ןייו םחל‬, “bread and wine”]) some aspects
of the incident regarding Gn 14,18-20. In general terms, similarities allow us to
Sify the portion as "Rewritten Bible": 13 and all the spoils, and went up to find it. Went to Salén
(‫)םלשל‬, which is Jerusalem (‫)םלשורי‬. Abraham camped in the valley of 14 Save (‫)אוש‬, which is the
Valley
of the King (‫)אכלמ קמע‬, the valley of Bet ha-Keren. Melchizedek (‫)קדציכלמ‬, king of Salén (‫אכלמ‬
‫)םלשד‬, he took out 15 food and drinks for Abraham and for all the men with him. He was
priest of the Most High God (‫)ןוילע לאל ןהכ‬. He blessed Abraham 16 and said: Blessed be Abraham
for the Most High God, Lord of heaven and earth, and blessed be the Most High God 17 who has
delivered
Your enemies in your hands. And (Abraham) gave him a tithe of all the cattle of the king of Elam
and his allies. On 1QapGn see Nahman Avigad and Yigael Yadin, A Genesis Apocryphon: A Scroll
om the Wilderness of Judaea (Jerusalem: Magness Press-Heikhal ha-Sefer, 1956).

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of the judgment, as it is written about him in the songs of David that says: “'Elohim
stand in the asam [blea of God], in the midst of the gods judge ”. And about him he says:
"On it 11 returns to the heights, God will judge the peoples." And what I said [ce:
“How long will you judge unjustly and keep consideration for the evildoers?
two? Sélah . ”12 His interpretation concerns Belial and the spirits of his lot, who
they were rebels [all of them] turning away from the commandments of God [to
put evil.] 13 But Melchizedek will execute the vengeance of God's judgments [in
that day, and they will be delivered from the hands of) Belial and from the hands of all
it is [the spirits of his lot.) 14 In his help (all) will come "the gods of [justice"; the]
it is who [in that day will prevail over] all the children of God, and he will [
assembly] 15 is. This is the day of [the peace of which] [God of old spoke by the
Isa's words] ías the prophet, who said: “How beautiful] 16 are on the mountains the
feet of the preacher who announces peace, of the pre [gonero of the good who announces the salt
vation,] saying to Zion: “your God [queen”. ”] 17 His interpretation: The mountains are
the teachers [tas ...] 18 And the preacher is [the one] of the spirit of which Da [niel ...
and the preacher of the] 19 good that announces the salvation [is the one of which it is written
that [he will send it to you "to comfort the igidos, to watch over the igidos of
Zion. ”] 20“ To comfort the equals, ”his interpretation:] to instruct them in
all the times of world [...] 21 really. [...] 22 [...] she has been removed from
Belial and she [...] 23 [...] in God's judgments as written about him: "Saying
to Zion: "your God reigns." ["Yes] ón", is 24 [the congregation of all the sons of righteousness
cia, those who establish the alliance, those who avoid marching [through the path] of the people
blo. "Your God," is 25 [... Melchizedek, who delivers them] from the hand of Belial. And what
He says: "You will sound the body [not in all the country"). 12
The fragments that make up this mid-chimeric writing
of the century a. C., were presented in their prince prince in 1965 by
12
Florentino García Martínez, Qumran texts, 186-187, cf . Martínez and Tigchelaar ed., E
Dead Sea Scrolls Study Edition , 1206, 1208. Since my approach to 11Q13 is of order
Theological, I will not review the theories of reconstruction. See Yigael Yadin, “A Note on
Melchizedek and umran ”, Israel Exploration Journal 15, No. 3 (1965): 152-153; Daniel F. Mi-
ner, "Suggested Reading for 11Q Melchizedek 17", Journal for the Study of Judaism in the Per-
Sian, Hellenistic and Roman Period 2, No. 2 (1971): 144-148; Francois du Toit Laubscher, “God’s
Angel of Truth and Melchizedek: A Note on 11QMelch 13b ”, Journal for the Study of Judaism
in the Persian, Hellenistic and Roman Period 3, # 1 (1972): 46-51; Jozef T. Milik, “Milkî-sedeq
et Milkî-reša: Dans les anciens écrits juifs et crétiens ”, Journal of Jewish Studies 23, No. 2 (1972):
95-144; Émile Puech, “Notes sur le manuscrit de 11QMelkîsédeq”, Revue de Qumran 12, No. 4
(1987): 483-513 and, especially, Florentino García Martínez, Eibert JC Tigchelaar and Adam
S. van der Woude, Qumran Cave 11.II (11Q2–18, 11Q20–31) , DJD 23 (Oxford: Clarendon,
1998), 225-230. Note that, after reading these materials, the textual debate does not alter
ficatively the portion under study.

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1. The figure of Melchizedek in Qumran | 7
DavarLogos · July – December · 2017 · Volume XVI · No. 2: 1–19
Adam S. van der Woude. 13 The title of Woude's article summarizes its
contributions: (a) Melchizedek's vision as a redeeming celestial figure
("Melchisedek als himmlische Erlösergestalt"), and (b) the identification of the
genus as eschatological midráš ("eschatologischen Midraschim"). 14
Both the arrangement of the Hebrew text, overcoming the fragmentary nature
of it, 15 as its interpretation, continue to be paradigmatic.
Two years later, Joseph A. Fitzmyer publishes “Further Light on Mel-
chizedek from umran Cave 11 ”. 16 Starting from the work of Woude, Fitz-
myer understands that the absence of references - without discussing echoes or
allusions — to Genesis 14,18-20 and Psalm 110.4 in 11Q13 attests to differ-
several lines of tradition regarding the New Testament argument. 17
13
Adam S. van der Woude, “Melchisedek als himmlische Erlösergestalt in den neugefundenen
eschatologischen Midraschim aus umran Höhle XI ”, Oudtestamentische Studiën 14 (1965):
354-373. While there are studies on Melchizedek that precede the discovery (1956) and the
publication of these fragments (1965), in the bibliographic exploration I adopt the article of
Adam S. van der Woude as the moment to quo .
14
See also Marinus de Jonge and Adam S. van der Woude, “11QMelchizedek and the New
Testament ”, New Testament Studies 12, No. 4 (1966): 301-326. Jean Carmignac (“Le document
de umrân sur Melkisédeq ”, Revue de Qumran 7, No. 3 [1970]: 343-378) objected to the interpretation
Celestial Melchizedek suggested by Woude. The following year Mathias Delcor, after evaluating
Carmignac’s arguments held that Woude’s reading remained the most plausible
sible: “In spite of the excellent observations made by Carmignac, I still think that VAN DER
WOUDE (followed by DE JONGE and FITZMYER) understood the meaning of the He-
brew text as a whole correctly ”(“ Melchizedek from Genesis to the umran Texts and the Epist-
le to the Hebrews ”, Journal for the Study of Judaism in the Persian, Hellenistic and Roman
Period 2, No. 2 [1971]: 134).
fifteen
Cf. Woude, “Melchisedek als himmlische Erlösergestalt in den neugefundenen eschatologischen
Midraschim aus umran Höhle XI ”, Abb. 1 and 2. For higher resolution images see e
Leon Levy Dead Sea Scrolls Digital Library (http://www.deadseascrolls.org.il/explore-the-ar-
chive / search # q = 11Q13).
16
Joseph A. Fitzmyer, "Further Light on Melchizedek from umran Cave 11", Journal of Biblical
Literature 86, No. 1 (1967): 25-41.
17
Together, the Catholic scholar acknowledges the hermeneutical contribution of this finding to the
comment: “… its exaltation of Melchizedek and its view of him as a heavenly redemption-figure
make it understandable how the author of the epistle to the Hebrews could argue for the supe-
riority of Christ the high priest over the levitical priesthood by appeal to such a figure ”(Ibid.,
41). Marinus de Jonge and Adam S. van der Woude, in their view, comment: “... it is clear
that the Melchizedek conception of Hebrews was in uenced by notions which are also found in
umran, but that there is no special connexion with the expectation of the messianic high-
priest found there ”(“ 11QMelchizedek and the New Testament ”, 322).

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Fred L. Horton, in 1976, presents a review of his dissertation,
governed by William D. Davies, under the title and Melchizedek Tradition .
In chapter three, 18 after a brief comment to 1QapGn, 19 examines
11Q13 and above to the following thought:
We have just enough of the original document to tell that the author considered
Melchizedek to be a superior being of some sort who will appear at the end of
days to bring atonement for the sons of light and who is the direct opponent
of Belial. twenty
Regarding the incidence of the qumranita document in the interpretation
of Hebrews, Horton is, on more than one occasion, ambiguous. However,
shape your posture with these words: “I have no reason to believe that
Hebrews is related to the speculation about Melchizedek demonstrated
in the 11Q Melchizedek. " 21 For his part, Paul J. Kobelski, in Melchizedek
and Melchireša ' , 22 argues that the author of Hebrews is familiar with
the figure of Melchizedek as a heavenly being 23 and, far from diminishing, said
Conception is Christologically restructured. The following concept of
Kobelski is extremely relevant:
Although no relationship between the Melkizedek of 11QMelch and the Mel-
chizedek of Hebrews 7 can be established beyond their attribution to each of a
heavenly character, there are many points of comparison between the figure of
Melchizedek on 11QMelch and Jesus in Hebrews. 24
18
Horton, and Melchizedek Tradition , 60-82.
19
Ibid., 61-64.
twenty
Ibid., 79.
twenty-one
Ibid., 168.
22
Paul J. Kobelski, Melchizedek and Melchireša ': e Heavenly Prince of Light and the Prince of
Darkness in Qumram Literature , CBQMS 10 (Washington, DC: Catholic Biblical Association
of America, 1981).
2. 3
Ibid., 123. This does not mean that the author of Hebrews elaborates his theology on the basis of texts
pa-
rabbiblicals like 11Q13 (Ibid., 127).
24
Ibid., 128.

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Subsequently, three Italian researchers, Claudio Gianotto
(1984), 25 Francesco Bindella (1994) 26 and Franco Manzi (1997) 27 , equally
they re exion in the encrypted character.
Interpretations run until this moment between momentum
eschatological, redemptive action (‫)ררד‬, judicial work (‫ )טפשמ‬and
celestial / angelic / divine effigy (‫ )םיהולא‬of Melchizedek. Also, the in-
terprets link him with two characters from the theological worldview
qumranita: the "Prince ('ruler') of the Lights" (1QS III, 20 28 ; CD
V, 18-19 29 ) and the archangel Michael (1QM XVII, 6.7 30 ). Belial's figure
25
Claudio Gianotto, Melchisedek e la sua typologia: Tradizioni giudaiche, christiane e gnostiche (sec
II BC-sec. III AD) , RivB 12 (Brescia: Paideia, 1984). Gianotto works driven by the public
cation of 11Q13 (1965) and Nag Hammadi Codex IX (1977). Both Melchisedek and the typology
(1984) as Melchizedek Tradition (1976), continue to be referential in relation to
Tracking and identification of traditions about Melchizedek. In this line, from a perspective
diachronic, it is necessary to mention the study of Gottfried Wuttke, Melchisedech, der Priesterkönig
on Salem. Eine Studie zur Geschichte der Exegese , BZNW 5 (Giessen: Töpelmann, 1927) and,
recently, Christfried Böttrich, Geschichte Melchisedeks , JSHRZ (Gütersloh: Gütersloher
Verlagshaus, 2010).
26
Francesco Bindella, Melchisedek alla Luce della Rivelazione of the Divine Nome: Priesthood Regalità
Profezia all'origine , PA 2 (Assisi, Italy: Porziuncola, 1994).
27
Franco Manzi, Melchisedek e l'angelologia nell'Epistola agli Ebrei ea Qumran , AnBib 136 (Rome:
Pontifical Istituto Biblical Editrice, 1997). The Italian scholar concludes: “Sulla base della griglia
criterilogico-formale, stabilita in headquarters preliminary per vagliare in critical mode l'entità
dell'autonomia or della dipendenza dei documenti paragonati, siamo finally in degree di sus-
I will have a synthetic giudizio cheese: to riguardo della figura di Melchisedek, there is a lock
za diretta di Eb dai manoscritti qumranici. In secondo luogo, è lecito, a riguardo dell'originale
Melchisedekian argomentazione dell'Epistola nel quadro più vasto dell'angelologia, parlare di
'dispenza' non si riferisce agli elementi properly melchisedekiani quanto piuttosto a quelli
angelologici. It is very precise that this is 'inderetta', ossia comes through the commune sfondo ideo-
Logic and terminology of the giudaico-apocalittici filoni of secoli II BC-I AD ”(Ibid, 271).
28
‫קדצ ינב לוכ תלשממ םירוא רש דיבו‬, “In the hand of the Prince of Lights is dominion over
all the children of justice. "
29
‫הנושארה תא לארשי עשוהב ותמזמב והיחא תאו הנחי תא לעילב םקיו םירואה רש דיב ןרהאו השמ‬,
“Moses and Aaron by the hand of the prince of lights, and Belial, with his ruse, raised Janes and
his brother during the first salvation of Israel. ”
30
‫םימלוע רואב לאכימ תרשמל רידאה ךאלמ תרובגב ]ב[ לרוגל םימלוע רזע חלשיו העשר‬, “Sent
eternal help to the redeemed lot with the power of the majestic angel, by the Vacat service. from
Miguel
in eternal light ”; ‫לאכימ תרשמ םילאב םירהל לא לרוגל הכרבו םולש לארשי תירב החמשב ריאהל‬
‫תלשממו‬, “The covenant of Israel will shine with joy, peace and blessing to the lot of God. He will exalt
over
the gods the service of Miguel ”. Rick Van de Water, after exploring the association with Miguel,
concludes: “and author of 11QMelch uses Pss. 7.8; 82.1; 110.1; Isa. 52.7; 61.1; Dan. 7.13; 9.26

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(4Q495 frag. 2,3-4; 31 4Q286 frag. 7.2 32 ), identified in other documents
cough as the "king of perversity" (4Q544 frag. 2 33 ; 4Q280 34 ), 35 emerges
becoming the antithesis of the "king of justice."
to portray Melchizedek as Yhwh and at the same time as God's intermediary ”(“ Michael or
Yhwh? Toward Identifying Melchizedek in 11Q13 ”, Journal for the Study of the Pseudepigrapha
16, No. 1 [2006]: 85). See Manzi, Melchisedek e l'angelologia nell'Epistola agli Ebrei ea umran,
67-96.
31
3 You created [Belial (‫ )לעילב‬for the grave, angel of hostility (‫ ;)המטשמ ךאלמ‬his domain is the
Darkness (‫)ךשוחבו‬, his advice is for evil and iniquity. All the spirits of his lot,] 4 angels
Destruction (
), march on the laws of darkness ...]
32
[the men of the] 1 community council will say, all together, Amen. Amen. Vacat And then
They execrarán Belial (‫ )לעילב‬to 2 to all their guilty batch (‫)ותמשא לרוג לוכ תאו‬. They will take the floor
and
they will say: Damn Belial (
) in his design of hostility, 3 and be execrated in his ser-
guilty vice. And damn all the spirits of his lot in their wicked designs
(
), 4 and execrated be in their designs of immunity impurity
gives. Because [they are the lot] of darkness (
), and your visit will be 5 for the eternal pit.
Amen. Amen. Vacat And damn the wicked (‫[ )שרה‬...] of his domain, and be exempt 6 all
the sons of Belial (
) in all the iniquities of their functions until their extermination
[forever. Amen. Amen.] Vacat. 7 And [damn it ... ange] gel of the pit and the spirit [ritu de la des]
In all projects of your inclination 8 [guilty ...] and in your impious advice. And execra-
Do you in the [min] of [... ] 9 with all the [miles of the She] ol and with [...] 10 [...] destruction
tion for the destructive wrath of [God ...] Amen. Amen. 11 [And damn] all who
they work [their im] pious projects and those who implant iniquity [in their hearts, to conspire]
12 [against the covenant of] God (
) and for [...] and to change the precepts [of the law]
13 [...] ... [...]
33
1 [...] dominating over you [...] 2 [...] this one, who is it? And he told me: this [...] 3 and [...] Melki-
resha '(‫יכלמ‬
‫)עשר‬. Vacat I said: “My Lord: ué [...] 4 [...] and darkness, and all his work is darkness, and in the ti-
fog it [...] 5 [...] you see. And he dominates over all darkness (‫)אכושח לוכ לעטלשמ‬, and I [...] 6 [...
from the upper] regions to the lower ones, I dominate everything that is luminous and
everything [...].
3. 4
1 [... may God separate him] for evil in the midst of the children of light (
), [well
so of your follow-up ...] 2 [and they will say: Wrong] I say it is you, Melki-resha '(‫ )עשר יכלמ‬in all
Designate children of your guilty inclination. that makes you] 3 God an object of horror by the hand
of
revenge avengers. May God not thank you when you invoke him. [ue raise your face aira-
do] 4 on you for a curse. That there is no peace for you in the mouth of those who intercede. [Damned
be,] 5 without a rest; and be execrated, without salvation. And those who put into work [their
ungodly designs,] 6 and those who have implanted iniquity in their hearts, to conspire against
through the covenant of God (‫[ )לא תירב לע‬... and against] 7 [the words] of the seers of his vision
[dad. Y
to] two who refuse to enter [in their covenant ... (‫])לא תירבב‬
35
The phrase "lot of Belial" (‫ )לעילב לרוג‬is characteristic of the community:
1QS II, 4-6: 4
May he raise upon you the face of his grace for eternal peace. ” And the damn Levites
All men 5 of Belial's lot (‫ )לעילב לרוג‬circulate . They will take the floor and say: “Damn
be for all your impious guilty works. I gave you (God) to terror, 6 at the hands of

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The apocalyptic approach governs the reading of the state community.
setting up a war meta-narrative that oscillates between the climax and the anticyclical
eschatological max ( eg 1QM, 4Q471, 4Q285, 4Q491, etc).
In 1997, Paul A. Rainbow questions the common feeling of the commentators.
rivals in "Melchizedek as a Messiah at umran". 36 Evading the Force
iconographic generated by the angelic portrait, 37 Rainbow seeks development
llar and promote a messianic approach to Melchizedek pointing,
among other aspects, that the collection of biblical texts used enables
Ta said approach. 38
In the document, Melchizedek proclaims
revenge avengers. Let the destruction fall upon you by the hand of all the executors
of punishments
1QM I, 5: [and eternal destruction for all] of Belial (
) . There will be pa [nico
great among the sons of Japheth, and Asur will fall,]
4Q257 II, 1 : And the Levites will curse all the men in the lot of [Beli] al (
). To-
marán the word and they will say: “Damn you…
4Q177 III, 8: [...] the light dominates over it, which is in duel during the domain of Be [lial,
and he who rules over the lot of darkness,] (
) that is in
duel [...]
4Q177 IV, 16: [...] Belial and all the men in his lot (
) They finished
forever, and all the children of the light will be gathered [...]
36
Paul A. Rainbow, “Melchizedek as a Messiah at umran”, Bulletin for Biblical Research 7
(1997): 179-194. Rainbow does not mention work on qumra messianic expectations.
García Martínez's nitas where she includes the figure of Melchizedek. Cf . Florentino García Martí-
nez, "Messianische Erwartungen in den umranschri en", in Der Messias , JBT 8, ed. Wh
Schmidt (Neukirchen-Vluyn: Neukirchener, 1993), 171-208.
37
Cf . Maxwell J. Davidson, Angels at Qumran: A Comparative Study of 1 Enoch 1–36, 72–108 and
Sectarian Writings om Qumran , JSPSup 11 (She eld: She eld Academic Press, 1992), 255-
264; Géza G. Xeravits, King, Priest, Prophet: Positive Eschatological Protagonists of the Qumran
Library , STDJ 47 (Leiden: EJ Brill, 2002), 191-203; Joseph L. Angel, Otherworldly and Escha-
tological Priesthood in the Dead Sea Scrolls , STDJ 86 (Leiden: EJ Brill, 2010), 152-155; I devour
rah Dimant, History, Ideology and Bible Interpretation in the Dead Sea Scrolls: Collected Studies ,
FZAT 90 (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2014), 502.
38
Rainbow, "Melchizedek as a Messiah at umran", 190. In 11Q13 the theological structure was elapsed
Bora on Lv 25,9.10.12.13.15; Dt 15.2; Salt 7.8-9; 82.1-2; Is 49.8; 52.7; 61.1-3 and Dn 9.25. Ko-
Belski understands that it is possible to visualize allusions to Salt 110 ( Melchizedek and Melchireša
' , 53-
55). See here Anders Aschim, “Melchizedek the Liberator: An Early Interpretation of Genesis
14? ”, In Society of Biblical Literature 1996 Seminar Papers , SBLSP 35 (Atlanta: Scholars Press,
1996), 243-258.

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freedom to the captives, 39 restores the people of God 40 and, from a perspective
eschatological tiva, intervenes soteriologically. 41
Florentino García
Martinez will insist on the same point in his article “The traditions about
Melchizedek in the umran manuscripts ”:
... the basic functions that 11QMelch attributes to Melchizedek are me-
Sianas we can then designate the protagonist to whom these functions are attributed
buidas like "messías" although the text does not use the word "anointed". Y
Since this protagonist is presented as a “celestial” figure, we can
then characterize it as a "heavenly messiah." 42
The messianic figures in umran and the theological perceptions that
derive from the midráš, manifest a linearity in the understanding of the
39
, “To rid them of [the debt] from all their iniquities (6).
40
“In which he will be atoned for (‫ )לכפר‬by all the children of [God]” (8); “It is the time of the 'year of
grace'
(‫ )ןוצרה תנשל‬for Melchizedek ”(9). Crispin HT Fletcher-Louis, based on these notions,
makes an ontological comment about Melchizedek: "is again tells against
Melchizedek being 'an angel', but is consistent with Melchizedek's divine (and representative)
humanity ”( All the Glory of Adam: Liturgical Anthropology in the Dead Sea Scrolls , STDJ 42
[Leiden: EJ Brill, 2002], 220, see 216-221). As James R. Davila put it: “Our earliest
unambiguous Jewish evidence for Melchizedek as a divine mediator is found in 11Q13 ... ”
(“Melchizedek, the 'Youth', and Jesus”, in e Dead Sea Scrolls as Background to Postbiblical Ju-
daism and Early Christianity: Papers om an International Conference at St. Andrews in 2001 ,
STDJ 46, ed. James R. Davila [Leiden: EJ Brill, 2003], 250). See also Ruth MM Tus-
chling, Angels and Orthodoxy: A Study in eir Development in Syria and Palestine om the
Qumran Texts to Ephrem the Syrian , STAC 40 (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2007), 131-133; Alex
P. Jassen, Mediating the Divine: Prophecy and Revelation in the Dead Sea Scrolls and Second Tem-
ple Judaism , STDJ 68 (Leiden: EJ Brill, 2007), 91-95; Eric F. Mason, “You are a Priest Fore-
see ”: Second Temple Jewish Messianism and the Priestly Christology of the Epistle to the Hebrews ,
STDJ 74 (Leiden: EJ Brill, 2008), 138-190.
41
“But Melchizedek will execute the vengeance (‫ )םקנ‬of God's judgments (
) [on that day, and
they will be delivered (
) from the hands) of Belial (‫ )לעילב‬and from the hands of all
is [spirits of his lot (
) ”(13). In a way Nag Hammadi gives continuity to these
ideas in Codex IX (text from the end of the 2nd century AD or the beginning of the 3rd century
AD). See here Birger
A. Pearson, “and Figure of Melchizedek in the First Tractate of the Unpublished Coptic-Gnos-
tic Codex IX from Nag Hammadi ”, in Proceedings of 12th International Congress of the Interna-
tional Association for the History of Religions , SHR 31, eds. Eric J. Sharpe, Claas J. Bleeker and Geo
Widengren (Leiden: EJ Brill, 1975), 200-208. For the Coptic text see Birger A. Pearson ed.,
e Coptic Gnostic Library: A Complete Edition of the Nag Hammadi , 5 vols. (Leiden: EJ Brill,
1981), 5: 42-85.
42
Florentino García Martínez, “The traditions about Melchizedek in the umran manuscripts”,
Biblio 81, No. 1 (2000): 76. Cf. Mason, "You are a Priest Forever" , 111-132.

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1. The figure of Melchizedek in Qumran | 13
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human history that harbors a worldview that is transmitted and killed
rializa through a "theology of life" ( halaká ); the Rule of the Community
dad (1QS) - along with the Rule of the Congregation (1QSa) -, the Docu-
Mention of Damascus (CD) and the Hymns (1QH), clear legislators of a
identity, document an ordinance 43 that resists to contemporize
and it is proposed, unsuccessfully, to overcome the existential alienation conce-
Bida for sin. 44
In this context, 11Q13 testifies, with eschatological greed, a con
of cosmic dimensions between good and evil that only finds feeling
do, after the expectant gaze of a people who long to be delivered “from the
hand of Belial ”and the“ day of [peace ”, in a universal consciousness that
he expresses expression through a deity as transcendent as immanent.
In fact “[the congregation of all the children of justice, those] who established
cen the alliance, those who avoid marching [through the village], ”he finds
hope in a prophetic configuration that warns of becoming historical
rich "the time of the 'year of grace' for Melchizedek."
The portrait of Melchizedek gravitates between the historical figure (Gn 14,18-
20) and the celestial figure (Ps 110.4) that subsequently evolves to
a kind of divine hypostasis (11Q13). The qumranite document
43
This nominee zeal is revealed in texts such as:
1QS V, 7-9: 7 … These are their rules of conduct (‫ )ןוכת‬on all these precepts (‫לוכ לע‬
‫ )הלאה םיקוחה‬when they are admitted to the community. Everyone who enters the council of the
community 8 will enter into the covenant of God (‫ )לא תירבב‬in the presence of all who offer
volunteers. He will commit himself with a mandatory oath to return to the law of Moses (‫םקיו‬
‫)השומ תרות לא בושל רסא תעובשב ושפנ לע‬, with all that it prescribes (‫)הוצ רשא לוככ‬, with
all 9 the heart and with the whole soul (‫)שפנ לוכבו בל לוכב‬, according to all that has been revealed of
she (‫ )הלגנה לוכל‬to the children of Zadok, the priests who observe the covenant and interpret their
will (‫)ונוצר ישרודו תירבה ירמוש םינהוכה‬, and the crowd of the men of his
alliance…
CD-A VI, 14-15: 14 … Unless they are careful to act according to the exact interpretation of the
law (‫ )הרותה שורפכ‬for the age of impiety (‫)עשרה‬: to separate 15 from the children of the pit
(‫…)תחשה ינבמ לדבהלו‬
44
As the following fragment vividly expresses: “But I belong to ungodly humanity
(‫)העשר‬, to the assembly of the wicked flesh (‫ ;)לוע‬my faults (‫)יתונווע‬, my transgressions (‫)יעשפ‬, my
sins )‫(יתאטח‬, {...} with the perversions (‫ )תווענ‬of my heart, belong to the assembly of the
worms and those who march in darkness (‫ (” )ךשוח יכלוהו‬Q 1QS XI, 9-10). See 4QMMT and the
reasons that are adduced there as generators of the rupture with Jerusalem and the search for
God in the desert.

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allows elucidating an exaltation of the character that, both explicitly and
implicitly, it erupts as reminiscent of the theological universe
of Judaism of the second temple. Without disregarding the epis- restrictions
theological 45 and hermeneutics ( tota Scriptura ), deny rearticulation
- under inspiration - of this diverse and nurturing theological picture in the
Christological assertions of the author of Hebrews - for which I estimate
it is essential to consider, fundamentally, the hermeneutical nature
of the original recipients— 46 is to ignore the Sitz im Leben de la Palesti-
na romana of the first century, which has been bequeathed precisely by
texts of varied mood like the one that has been subject to reexpression in
This subsection.
Hebrews 7
The passage par excellence of the New Testament concerning the
Melchizedek's theologization is Hebrews chapter 7. The author collects and
he erects his exposition starting from Genesis 14,18-20 and Psalms 110,4.
Consequently, he presents Melchizedek as an individual “without gene-
Lodge ”(γενεαλ γητο [v. 3]). 47
Four. Five
The words of Jacob Neusner are famous, halfway between a “protest” and a “maxim”
epistemological: "What we cannot show, we do not know".
46
See here, for example, the approach of Lincoln D. Hurst, and Epistle to the Hebrews: Its
Background of ought , SNTSMS 65 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990), 52-60.
47
In 2 Henoc 23,1-2, Melchizedek is introduced as the son of Nir and Sopanima, although through
of a virgin birth: “ 1 Behold, Nir's wife - by name Sopanima - was sterile
and could never give birth (a son) to Nir. 2 But, being Sopanima already in old age,
he conceived the day of death in his bosom, without Nir having slept with her or touched her
from the day the Lord had entrusted his ministry to the people ”(Alejandro Diez
Male ed., Apocrypha of the Old Testament: Cycle of Henoc , 6 vols. [Madrid: Cris- Editions
tiandad, 1982-2009], 4: 198). Its function, at least in principle, is to start a new line
Priestly and royal: “... and this will be a priest and first king in the city of Salim [Jerusalem], origin of
the priests in the image of this Melchizedek ”(2 Hen 23,60 [Ibid., 4: 201]). The need for
Attributing some "origin" to Melchizedek is palpable also in the Targum literature: (1) TgN
Gen 14,18: “And Melkisedeq, king of Jerusalem - who is the great Shem - (‫םלׁשוריד אכלמ קדצ־אכלמו‬
‫ )הבור םׁש אוה‬brought out bread and wine, for he was a priest, (and) he exercised the high priesthood
before God
Soaring..."; (2) TgPsJ Gn 14,18: “And Melkisedeq - who was Shem, son of Noah - (‫אוה אקידצ אכלמו‬
‫)ר רב םׁש‬, king of Jerusalem, went out to meet Abram and brought him bread and wine: in those days
He served before the Most High God ... ”(Teresa Martínez Sáiz, Aramaic Translations of the Bible:
The
targumin of the Pentateuch, I. Genesis , BM 28 [Estella, Navarra: Verb Divino, 2004], 106). For

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The wording, transcending the historical facticity adduced in the do-
Mosaic foundation, although based on it, is linguistic and theological
Allusive 48 The theological link between Christ and Melchizedek (τ ν
τ ξιν Μελχισ δεκ ["law of precedence"]) results in an ontological assessment
gica and missiological of the person and work of Jesus of Nazareth. Inten-
they describe the christian re-exion messianic appellations such as "king of
justice ”(βασιλε δικαιοσ νη [v. 2]), 49 “ king of peace ”(βασιλε ε ρ νη [v.
2]), 50 “has no beginning of days or end of life” (τε ρχ ν ερ ν τε
more extensive treatment see Antonio Rodríguez Carmona, “The figure of Melchizedek in the lite-
Targumic race: Study of the targumic translations about Melchizedek and its relationship with the
New Testament ”, Biblical Studies 37 (1978): 79-102; Robert Hayward, Targums and the
Transmission of Scripture into Judaism and Christianity , SAIS 10 (Leiden: EJ Brill, 2010), 377-
400. The association with Shem, the son of Noah, finds continuity in midrashic texts such as
TanjB Gn (Parašah lek-lükä 19): “what did he do? He went to meet Shem and please him (‫השע המ‬
‫)ותוצרל םש ותארקל אצי‬, as it is said: 'And Melchizedek, king of Salem.' (Gn 14,18) ... ”(Victor
Armenteros, Midráš Tanhuma Génesis (Edition of S. Buber) , BM 31 [Estella, Navarra: Verb
Divine, 2009], 163), and PRE: (a) 8.2: “And where did Sem make the transmission to Abraham?
(‫ )םהרבאל םש רסמש ןינמו‬Because it is said: 'According to Melkisedeq's words' ”; (b) 27.3: “R.
Yehosua ben Qorjahk said: Abraham was the first in the world to offer tithes. Reco-
He turned all tithes of Sodom and Gomorrah and all tithes of Lot, the son of his sister.
no, and I give them to Shem (‫)םשל ןתנו‬, the son of Noah, as it is said: 'And he gave him a tithe of
everything'
(Gn 14,20). Shem, the son of Noah (‫)חנ ןב םש אצי‬, met him and when he saw all the exploits
that he had made and all the fortune he had recovered, his heart was filled with admiration-
tion and began to proclaim, praise and glorify the Name of its Creator saying: 'Blessed is the
Most High God who delivered your enemies into your hand '”(Miguel P. Fernández, The Chapters of
Rabbí Eliezer , BM 1 [Valencia: S. Jerome Institute for Biblical Research, 1984], 92,
194). Cf. GnR 43.7 and b.Ned. 32b See also Martin McNamara, “Melchizedek: Gen 14,17-
20 in the Targums, in Rabbinic and Early Christian Literature ”, Biblica 81, No. 1 (2000): 1-31;
Emmanouela Grypeou and Helen Spurling, and Book of Genesis in Late Antiquity: Encounters bet-
ween Jewish and Christian Exegesis , JCPS 24 (Leiden: EJ Brill, 2013), 199-238.
48
Recently, Joshua G. Mathews, in Melchizedek's Alternative Priestly Order: A Compositio-
nal Analysis of Genesis 14: 18-20 and its Echoes throughout the Tanak , BBR 8 (Winona Lake,
Ind .: Eisenbrauns, 2013), has suggested - with varied argumentative force - that “... there is a
textually recognizable and demonstrably distinct priestly succession —an order of Melchize-
dek— intended in the composition of the Pentateuch and continuing throughout the OT ca-
non (Tanak) ”(Ibid., 3).
49
Cf . "A king shall reign with justice" (‫[ ךלמ־ךלמי קדצל‬Is 32,1]); “And that he will practice law and
justice
ticia on earth ”(‫[ ץראב הקדצו טפׁשמ הׂשעו‬Jr 23,5]); “And this is the name by which it will be called
mado: 'Jehovah, our righteousness' ”(‫[ ונקדצ הוהי וארקי־רׁשא ומׁש־הזו‬Jr 23,6]), etc.
fifty
Cf . "Prince of Peace" (‫[ םולׁש־רׂש‬Is 9,5]); “And this will be peace!” (‫[ םולׁש הז היהו‬My 5.5]); "he has-
Blara de Paz to the nations ”(‫[ םיוגל םולׁש רבדו‬Za 9,10]), etc.

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ζω τ ο χων [v. 3]), “remain a priest forever” (νει ερε
ε τ διηνεκ [v. 3]). 51
The author presupposes, as is evident from reading the text, the
knowledge of the pentateucal registry and, therefore, of the patriar narrative
lime by your interlocutors. 52 The very essence of the exhibition is
typological 53 since, as the documentary evidence veterotestamenta-
Ria points out, 54 all theological reion regarding the figure of Melchizedek
51
On the “priestly consciousness” of Jesus see the arguments presented by Crispin HT Flet-
Cher-Louis, "Jesus as the High Priestly Messiah: Part 1", Journal for the Study of the Historical
Jesus 4, No. 2 (2006): 155-175; idem, "Jesus as the High Priestly Messiah: Part 2", Journal for the
Study of the Historical Jesus 5, No. 1 (2007): 57-79.
52
The various references - citations, allusions and echoes - to veterinary material by the
Author of Hebrews have been, as at present, a fruitful area in the studies of the New
Testament: “Of all the topics in which scholarship has made strides on Hebrews research du-
ring the past quarter century, there is, perhaps, none more important than that book's uses of the
Old Testament ”(George H. Gundry,“ Hebrews' Use of the Old Testament: Recent Trends in
Research ”, Currents in Biblical Research 1, No. 2 [2003]: 271). In addition to the rea-
Listed by commentators such as Ceslas Spicq ( L'épître aux Hébreux , 2 vols., EBib [Paris: Gabal-
da, 1952], 1: 330-350), Harold W. Attridge ( and Epistle to the Hebrews: A Commentary on the
Epistle to the Hebrews , Hermeneia [Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1989], 23-25), Frederick F. Bru-
ce ( e Epistle to the Hebrews , NICNT [Grand Rapids, Mich .: Eerdmans, 1990], 25-29), Wi-
lliam L. Lane ( Hebrews 1-8 , WBC [Dallas, Tx .: Word Books, 1991], cxiii-cxxiv), Paul Ellin-
gworth ( and Epistle to the Hebrews: A Commentary on the Greek Text , NIGTC [Grand Rapids,
Mich .: Eerdmans, 1993], 37-42), and Gareth L. Cockerill ( and Epistle to the Hebrews , NICNT
[Grand Rapids, Mich .: Eerdmans, 2012], 41-59) some of the most recent research
are those of Radu Gheorghita ( e Role of the Septuagint in Hebrews: An In estigation of Its In-
uence with Special Consideration to the Use of Hab 2: 3-4 in Heb 10: 37-38 , WUNT 160 [Tübin-
gen: Mohr Siebeck, 2003]), George H. Gundry ("Hebrews", in Commentary on the New Testa-
ment Use of the Old Testament , eds. Gregory K. Beale and Donald A. Carson [Grand Rapids,
Mich .: Baker Academic, 2007], 919-995), Susan E. Docherty ( e Use of the Old Testament in
Hebrews: A Case Study in Early Jewish Bible Interpretation , WUNT 260 [Tübingen: Mohr Sie-
beck, 2009]), Gert J. Steyn ( A Quest for the Assumed LXX Vorlage of the Explicit Quotations in
Hebrews , FRLANT 235 [Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2011]) and Georg Walser ( Old
Testament Quotations in Hebrews , WUNT 356 [Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2013]). All about-
I lie to the New Testament documents that I depreciate and / or dispense with in the Old Testament.
It will unfailingly distort the theological notions preserved there.
53
Regarding the use of typology in Hebrews, see Richard M. Davidson, “Typology in the Book of
Hebrews ”, in Issues in the Book of Hebrews , DARCOM 4, ed. Frank B. Holbrook (Silver Spring,
Md .: Biblical Research Institute, 1989), 121-186.
54
Cf . Hermann L. Strack and Paul Billerbeck, Kommentar zum Neuen Testament aus Talmud und
Midrasch , 4 vols. (Munich: CH Beck'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, 1922-1928), 3: 494-495
( quod non in thora, non in mundo ).

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DavarLogos · July – December · 2017 · Volume XVI · No. 2: 1–19
ostensibly part of an argumentum ex silentio . Parallel,
as already indicated, Melchizedek corresponds to the theological heritage of
Judaism of the second temple. In this context, the discourse of speech
It is the beneficiary of a Christological multidimensionality that connotes e
impacts the broad theological spectrum of the Roman Palestine of the first
century making intelligible the divine identity, the celestial origin and the media-
salvific ment of Jesus of Nazareth. 55
The Christology of the author of Hebrews, beginning in a process
revelational, it appears in a complex and pluriform theological reservoir. 56
The various readings of Hebrews 7 center, as an expression
summary, 57 in a theological abstraction oriented towards a structure
55
The following comment by Felix H. Cortez brings hermeneutic scope to the statement: “... He-
brews considers Jesus' sacrifice and appointment as high priest as heavenly in nature (Heb 8: 4).
is does not exclude events which occurred on earth. Jesus' identification with human beings
in adopting their human nature (2:14) and his his erings and death on earth (5: 7-10; 12: 2-3) are
an integral part of his heavenly appointment and ministry as high priest. One cannot exist
without the others ”(“ 'An Anchor of the Soul that Enters within the Veil': e Ascension of the
'Son' in the Letter to the Hebrews ”[Ph. D. Diss., Seventh-day Adventist eological Seminary,
Andrews University, July 2008], 322).
56
This has led Graham Hughes, among others, to hold “... that the writer of Hebrews is the
theologian who, more diligently and successfully than any other of the New Testament writers,
has worked at what we now describe as hermeneutics ”( Hebrews and Hermeneutics: e Epistle
to the Hebrews as a New Testament Example of Biblical Interpretation , SNTSMS 36 [Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 1979], 3).
57
The hermeneutical plurality attested in exegetical work naturally derives in a
diversity of readings See, for example, Spicq, L'épître aux Hébreux , 2: 203-214; Joseph A.
Fitzmyer, "'Now this Melchizedek' (Heb 7: 1)", Catholic Biblical uarterly 25, No. 3 (1963): 305-
321; idem, "Melchizedek in the MT, LXX, and the NT", Biblica 81, No. 1 (2000): 63-69; An-
drew J. Bandstra, "Heilsgeschichte and Melchizedek in Hebrews", Cal in eological Journal 3,
No. 1 (1968): 36-41; Gareth L. Cockerill, “e Melchizedek Christology in Heb. 7: 1-28 ”
(Ph. D. Diss., Union eological Seminary, Virginia, 1976); idem, ““ Melchizedek or 'King of
Righteousness' ”, Evangelical uarterly 63, No. 4 (1991): 305-312; idem, “Melchizedek without
Speculation: Hebrews 7: 1-25 and Genesis 14: 17-24, ”in A Crowd of Witnesses: e eology of
Hebrews in its Ancient Context , LNTS 387, ed. Richard Bauckham, Daniel Driver, Trevor Hart
and Nathan MacDonald (London: T. & T. Clark, 2008), 128-144; idem, and Epistle to the He-
brews , 296-313; Richard Longenecker, “e Melchizedek Argument of Hebrews: A Study in
the Development and Circumstantial Expression of New Testament ought ”, in Unity and
Diversity in the New Testament eology: Essays in Honor of George E. Ladd , ed. Robert A. Gue-
lich (Grand Rapids, Mich .: Eerdmans, 1978), 161-185; Attridge, and Epistle to the Hebrews ,
192-195; Bruce, and Epistle to the Hebrews , 156-179; Lane, Hebrews 1-8 , 161-163; Ellingworth,
and Epistle to the Hebrews , 349-397; idem, “'Like the Son of God': Form and Content in

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18 | Leandro Velardo
DavarLogos · July – December · 2017 · Volume XVI · No. 2: 1–19
typology of clear christocentric cut that insists on the superlative character
vo of the Jesuit figure (ερε τερο… κατ δ να ιν ζω καταλ του)
emphasizing, with decided hermeneutic incidence, the uniqueness of its
priestly office (ερε) and its perennial monarchical function (βασιλε).
The thesis has its roots in veterinary testament theology and its subtraction
to hermeneutic without avoiding, at the same time, its cultural horizon.
"In search of meaning"
The theological atmosphere of Judaism in the second temple, in general, and
of the umrán community, in particular, is dominated by intense
speculations of apocalyptic nature that certainly coexist
under the figure of Melchizedek. The dualistic current of which the hom-
Bres removed on the shores of the Dead Sea are heirs, and from which 11Q13
provides testimony through the emblematic antagonism between
Belial and the spirits of his lot and the men of Melchizedek's lot,
conceives of a hope that ambitions the saving intervention of God in
the history. The rejection of the divine commandments and the perpetuation of
evil in the life of man demands a liberating intervention; the strengths
that operate subjugate the human will and announce, at the same time,
Hebrews 7: 1-10 ”, Biblio 64 (1983): 238-241; Barnabas Lindars, and eology of the Letter to the
Hebrews , NTT (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991), 72-77; Timothy W. Seid,
“E Rhetorical Form of the Melchizedek / Christ Comparison in Hebrews 7” (Ph. D. Diss.,
Brown University, May 1996), 111-133; Anders Aschim, “Melchizedek and Jesus: 11QMelchi-
zedek and the Epistle to the Hebrews ”, in Jewish Roots of Christological Monotheism: Papers om
the St. Andrews Conference on the Historical Origins of the Worship of Jesus , JSJSup 63,
ed. Tortoiseshell
C. Newman, James R. Davila and Gladys S. Lewis (Leiden: EJ Brill, 1999), 129-147; Deborah W.
Rooke, “Jesus as Royal Priest: Re ections on the Interpretation of the Melchizedek Tradition in
Heb 7 ”, Biblio 81, No. 1 (2000): 81-94; Eric F. Mason, “Hebrews 7: 3 and the Relationship bet-
ween Melchizedek and Jesus ”, Biblical Research 50 (2005): 41-62; idem, “You are a Priest Fore-
see ” ; Nathan Lefler, “e Melchizedek Traditions in the Letter to the Hebrews: Reading
through the Eyes of an Inspired Jewish-Christian Author ”, Pro Ecclesia 16, No. 1 (2007): 73-89;
Andrei A. Orlov, “e Heir of Righteousness and the King of Righteousness: e Priestly Noa-
chic Polemics in 2 Enoch and the Epistle to the Hebrews ”, Journal of eological Studies 58, no.
1 (2007): 45-65; Gard Granerød, “Melchizedek in Hebrews 7,” Biblica 90, No. 2 (2009): 188-
202; Jody A. Barnard, and Mysticism of Hebrews: Exploring the Role of Jewish Apocalyptic Mysti-
cism in the Epistle to the Hebrews , WUNT 331 (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2012), 128-130;
Dae-I Kang, "e Royal Components of Melchizedek in Hebrews 7", Perichoresis 10, No. 1
(2012): 95-124.

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the existence of a hostile and antinomic scenario. Despite these conditions
nantes, the kerygma of the herald presages freedom and, with messianic nuance,
reveals: "to free them from the debt of all their iniquities." Consequent-
Mind you, the Qurani traditions concerning Melchizedek house, dis-
putting emphasis and prominence, the “historical”, “celestial”, “an-
glica, "" (hypostasis) divine "and" messianic (celestial) "— simultaneously
with eschatological waiting, redemptive mediation and judicial activity
cial— of this veterinary character. Hebrews will add to the abiga-
Theological space and in typological terms, the dimension “Christoló-
Gica. " In the end, parabolic literature, oscillating between rewritten Bible
and meta-readings — that appealing to the sensus spiritualis are carriers of a
new theological worldview that extinguishes the hermeneutical essence of
Biblical text—, is distorted in its theological projection. In that sense,
as it seems evident from the reading of the different documents, it is licit
to affirm that the New Testament implies continuity, discontinuity
and novelty regarding the mentioned hermeneutical panorama. So by
example, in Hebrews, originating in the revelational plane and, therefore,
differing from finite stratagems of a partial perception, the au-
Sentence of a split regarding the priestly and monarch activity
Chemistry is succeeded by a vision where both functions converge ar-
monically in the person of Jesus of Nazareth.
Leandro Velardo
Faculty of Theology
Silver Adventist University
Entre Ríos, Argentina
[email protected]
Received: 10-30-16
Accepted: 23-2-1