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Melchizedek
Rubystars:
Why did Melchizedek know about the real true God? What would his religion be called since it existed prior to Judaism? Were there other groups of people (not in the line of Avraham) that worshipped the real God? There must have been for Melchizedek to be a real follower of God.
Harzel:
--- Quote from: Rubystars on June 07, 2013, 12:56:30 PM ---Why did Melchizedek know about the real true God? What would his religion be called since it existed prior to Judaism? Were there other groups of people (not in the line of Avraham) that worshipped the real God? There must have been for Melchizedek to be a real follower of God.
--- End quote ---
There were still other people who knew of God during Abraham's life time. Rashi proposes (probably based on some midrash) that Melchizedek was in fact Shem. By simply counting the years as described in the Torah you can see that Shem had still been alive during Abraham's lifetime (he actually outlived Abraham).
On the other hand, by the way this is phrased in the Hebrew source, and by the names and titles that we know of Canaanite gods, it may be that Melchizedek was not monotheistic, but he was a priest for the supreme god of the pantheon of gods in a polytheistic religion. "El Elyon" means supreme god. "El" was the head of the Canaanite pantheon, something like Odin is in the Norse or Zeus in the Greek pantheon. In Hebrew "El" is the generic name for a god.
Harzel:
Gen Name YOB AAF AAD YOD
1 Adam 1 130 930 931
2 Shet 130 105 912 1042
3 Enosh 235 90 905 1140
4 Kenan 325 70 910 1235
5 Mehalel 395 65 895 1290
6 Jered 460 162 962 1422
7 Khanoch 622 65 365 987
8 Metushelach 687 187 969 1656*
9 Lemech 874 182 777 1651
10 Noakh 1056 502 950 2006
11 shem 1558 100 600 2158
12 Arpaxad 1658 35 438 2096
13 Shelakh 1693 30 433 2126
14 Ever 1723 34 464 2187
15 Peleg 1757 30 239 1996
16 Reu 1787 32 239 2026
17 Serug 1819 30 230 2049
18 Nakhor 1849 29 148 1997
19 Tarakh 1878 70 205 2083
20 Abraham 1948 100 175 2123
21 Yitzkhak 2048 60 180 2228
22 Jaakob 2108 147 2255
23 Jehuda
24 Peretz
25 Khetzron
26 Ram
27 Aminadav
28 Nakhshon
29 Salma
30 Boaz
31 Obed
32 Yishay
33 David
34 Shlomo
35
36
37
38
39
40
notes:
Gen=generation, YOB=year of birth, AAF=age at fatherhood, AAD=age at Death
YOD=year of death.
* 1656 is the year of the flood.
muman613:
Good Answer Zelhar, indeed Melchitzedek was Shem according to our midrashim...
http://www.chabad.org/parshah/article_cdo/aid/1326593/jewish/Who-Was-Melchizedek.htm
Question:
In this week's Torah portion, after Abraham's victorious return from battle, we read:"Melchizedek the king of Salem brought out bread and wine, and he was a priest to the Most High God. And [Melchizedek] blessed him, and he said, "Blessed be Abram to the Most High God—Who possesses heaven and earth—and blessed be the Most High God, Who has delivered your adversaries into your hand." And [Abram] gave him a tithe from all."1
Who was this Melchizedek? What sort of priest was he, and why did Abraham give him a tithe?
Response:
Taken alone, this tiny anecdote does indeed seem strange. The Torah tells us nothing else about this man and his relationship to Abraham.
The ancient Targumim (Aramaic interpretive translations) identify Melchizedek as Shem—son of Noah. Shem was one of the links in the chain who transmitted the G‑dly traditions that originated with Adam. These traditions were carefully handed down from generation to generation, and Shem—who headed an academy—was a key conductor of these teachings. The Midrash tells us that he was so perfect and so spiritually advanced that he was born circumcised.2
So why did the priesthood pass from him to Abraham's children? The Talmud explains that this happened as a result of his having blessed Abraham before blessing G‑d in the verses above. This is reflected in the only other place in Scripture where Melchizedek is mentioned: in Psalms 110:4, where we read, ". . . you are a priest forever because of the speech of Melchizedek." Because of Melchizedek's ill-chosen speech, the priesthood was taken from him and given to the seed of Abraham forever.3
FOOTNOTES
1. Genesis 14:18-20.
2. Bereishit Rabbah 43:6.
3. Talmud, Nedarim 32b.
At first glance it seems problematic to say that the priesthood was taken from the progeny of Shem and given to the seed of Abraham, as Abraham himself was a grandson of Shem.
Tosafot offers two possible explanations: a. The priesthood was taken from the entire clan of Shem and became the exclusive privilege of Abraham’s seed. b. Natural progression would have conferred Shem’s status on his firstborn descendants—not Abraham. Thus, it was only because of this encounter that the priesthood was given to Abraham specifically.
RaN explains that the intent of the Talmud here is that the priesthood of Abraham’s seed was now only by merit of the righteous Abraham and not due to their relation to Shem—which is why they are the only descendants of Shem deemed worthy of honor.
muman613:
http://www.torah.org/qanda/seequanda.php?id=154
--- Quote ---Who was Melchizedek?
He was the king of Jerusalem ("Shalem") in Abraham's time (Gen. 14:18). The Targum and the Talmud identify him with Shem the son of Noah (Nedarim 32b). He was also a priest; the Rabbinical sources give no details about his priesthood, but they indicate that he was not as worthy a person as Abraham. The people who passed down religious traditions from Adam to Abraham and his descendants include Shem. On the identification of Shalem with Jerusalem see Psalms 76:3. The commentaries point out that Jerusalem was referred to as the City of Justice (Isaiah 1:26) and its kings were called "King of Justice" (Malki-Tzedek: Gen: 14:18) or "Lord of Justice" (Adoni-Tzedek: Joshua 10:1). For additional information (and other viewpoints) see the article Melchizedek in the Encyclopedia Judaica, Vol. 11, Cols. 1287-9.
--- End quote ---
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