And Melchizedek king of Salem brought forth bread and wine: and he was the priest of the most high God.
All Commentaries on Genesis 14:18 Go To Genesis 14
John Chrysostom
AD 407
What is conveyed to us by this comment, “the king of Salem and priest of God the most high”? He was, for one thing, king of Salem, the text says. Blessed Paul, after all, said the same in drawing attention to him when writing to the believers among the Hebrews, calling to mind his name and his city of origin. At the same time he plumbed the significance of his name and employed some degree of etymology in saying, “Melchizedek, king of righteousness.” You see, in the Hebrew language the word Melchi means “kingdom” and Sedek “righteousness.” Then, moving on to the name of the city, he says, “king of peace,” Salem after all meaning “peace.” On the other hand, he was a priest, possibly selfappointed, this being the way with the priests of the time, you see. So in fact his peers had either accorded him the honor on account of his preeminence in age, or he had made it his business to act as a priest, like Noah, like Abel, like Abraham when they used to offer sacrifices. In a particular manner he was to prove a type of Christ. Hence Paul too understands him in this role in the words “With no father, with no mother, with no family history, lacking beginning of days and end of life, he yet resembles the Son of God and remains a priest forever.” How, you ask, is it possible for a person to have no father or mother and to lack beginning of days and end of life? You heard that he was a type; well, neither marvel at this nor expect everything to be found in the type. You see, he would not be a type if he were likely to contain every feature that occurs in reality. So what does the saying mean? It means this: Just as Melchizedek is said to have no father or mother on account of there being no mention of his parents and to have no family history on account of there being no history for him, so too Christ, on account of his having no mother in heaven or father on earth, is said to have no family history and in fact has none.
