Transliteration of the Hebrew Malki-Tsedeq (H4442) — 'my king is righteousness' or 'king of righteousness.' The mysterious king-priest of Salem who blessed Abraham and received tithes from him (Gen. 14:18-20). His priesthood becomes the model for Christ's eternal priesthood in Psalm 110:4 and Hebrews 5-7.
Melchizedek is one of the most theologically rich figures in Scripture — appearing only three times in the OT (Gen. 14:18-20; Ps. 110:4) and extensively in the NT epistle to the Hebrews. The author of Hebrews builds an entire argument around his mysterious, parentless, death-unrecorded appearance: 'Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, resembling the Son of God, he remains a priest forever' (Heb. 7:3). This is typological exegesis at its finest: Melchizedek's silence in the text is the theological point — he prefigures the eternal, uncreated priesthood of Jesus. Three realities: (1) King-Priest combination — Melchizedek was both king of Salem (peace) and priest of El Elyon, foreshadowing the one who would be both King of kings and our Great High Priest. (2) Greater than Levi — Abraham (Levi's ancestor) paid tithes to Melchizedek, proving his order surpasses the Levitical. (3) Eternal — Psalm 110:4, cited seven times in Hebrews: 'You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.'