The Mystery of Melchizedek's Identity
The Order of Melchizedek
A fascinating solution to the enduring mystery of the identity of the elusive Melchizedek is found in the Book of Jasher. Mentioned twice in the Bible, this ancient historical book, once lost, has survived the ravages of time and was faithfully translated into the English language and published in the year 1840.
Many of the stories in the Book of Jasher correspond to the Biblical stories which we are so familiar with. Genesis 14 relates the story of Lot being captured by King Kedorlaomer of Elam in the famous battle of the nine kings and the subsequent introduction of Melchizedek.
Genesis 14:11 - 20
:11 The four kings seized all the goods of Sodom and Gomorrah and all their food; then they went away.
:12 They also carried off Abram's nephew Lot and his possessions, since he was living in Sodom.
:13 One who had escaped came and reported this to Abram the Hebrew. Now Abram was living near the great trees of Mamre the Amorite, a brother of Eshcol and Aner, all of whom were allied with Abram.
:14 When Abram heard that his relative had been taken captive, he called out the 318 trained men born in his household and went in pursuit as far as Dan.
:15 During the night Abram divided his men to attack them and he routed them, pursuing them as far as Hobah, north of Damascus.
:16 He recovered all the goods and brought back his relative Lot and his possessions, together with the women and the other people.
:17 After Abram returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the valley of Shaveh (that is, the King's Valley).
:18 Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High,
:19 and he blessed Abram, saying
"Blessed by Abram by God Most High,
Creator of heaven and earth.
:20 And blessed by God Most High,
who delivered your enemies into your hand."
Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.
The Identity of Melchizedek
For many centuries the Book of Jasher had been lost. The information on its pages was not available at the time of the early church. The author of Hebrews, like the rest of the world, did not have the book of Jasher at his disposal to identify more clearly who the elusive Melchizedek actually was. This causes Melchizedek to come across in such a mysterious fashion. It is not hat he had no parents at all. No. It is just that nobody knew his identity or ancestry.
Jasher provides some insight as to the identity of Melchizedek in chapter 16. while the names provided in Jasher are a bit different than the Bible shows them, remember that these people of ancient times were very flexible with the use of names. So don't get tripped up on them.
Jasher 16:6 - 12
:6 And they plundered all the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, and they also took Lot, Abram's brother's son, and his property, and they seized all the goods of the cities of Sodom, and they went away; and Unic, Abram's servant, who was in the battle, saw this, and told Abram all that the kings had done to the cities of Sodom, and that Lot was taken captive by them.
:7 And Abram heard this, and he rose up with about three hundred and eighteen men that were with him, and he that night pursued these kings and smote them, and they all fell before Abram and his men, and there was none remaining but the four kings who fled, and they went each his own road.
:8 And Abram recovered all the property of Sodom, and he also recovered Lot and his property, his wives and little ones and all belonging to him, so that Lot lacked nothing.
:9 And when he returned from smiting these kings, he and his men passed the valley of Siddim where the kings had made war together.
:10 And Bera king of Sodom, and the rest of his men that were with him, went out from the lime-pits into which they had fallen, to meet Abram and his men.
:11 And Adonizedek king of Jerusalem, the same was Shem, went out with his men to meet Abram and his people, with bread and wine, and they remained together in the valley of Melech.
:12 And Adonizedek blessed Abram, and Abram gave him a tenth from all that he had brought from the spoil of his enemies, for Adonizedek was a priest before God.
So we see here that Melchizedek of the Bible is the same man named Adonizedek in Jasher. Hebrews shows us that the name Melchizedek may be more of a title than a proper name.
Hebrews 7:1 - 2
:1 This Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of God Most High. He met Abraham returning from the defeat of the kings and blessed him,
:2 and Abraham gave him a tenth of everything. First, his name means "king of righteousness"; then also, "king of Salem" means "king of peace."
The name Adonizedek used in Jasher is a typical example of the practice of placing the name of one's god into one's own name. Adonai is one of the names of God.
The important point for which this interjected topic was included is that Melchizedek, also called Adonizedek, is Shem of all people! Look again at verse 11. Shem, the son of Noah, was king of Jerusalem. He was also the priest of God. It makes good sense that the God-fearing son of Noah would be called the "king of righteousness."
Shem and Abram knew each other as kinsmen. They actually had a very close relationship for Jasher records this in chapter 9:
Jasher 9:4 - 6
:4 Haran was forty-two years old when he begat Sarai, which was in the tenth year of the life of Abram; and in those days Abram and his mother and nurse went out from the cave, as the king and his subjects had forgotten the affair of Abram.
:5 And when Abram came out from the cave, he went to Noah and his son Shem, and he remained with them to learn the instruction of the Lord and his ways, and no man knew where Abram was, and Abram served Noah and Shem his son for a long time.
:6 And Abram was in Noah's house thirty-nine years, and Abram knew the Lord from three years old, and he went in the ways of the Lord until the day of his death, as Noah and his son Shem had taught him; and all the sons of the earth in those days greatly transgressed against the Lord, and they rebelled against him and they served other gods, and they forgot the Lord who had created them in the earth; and the inhabitants of the earth made unto themselves, at that time, every man his God; gods of wood and stone which could neither speak, hear, nor deliver, and the sons of men served them and they became their gods.
These 39 years with Noah had an incredible impact on the young man. When Abraham's wife Sarah died, Shem is again mentioned. This is recorded in chapter 24:
Jasher 24:13 - 17
:13 And Abraham buried Sarah with pomp as observed at the interment of kings, and she was buried in very fine and beautiful garments.
:14 And at her bier was Shem, his sons Eber and Abimelech, together with Anar, Ashcol and Mamre, and all the grandees of the land followed her bier.
:15 And the days of Sarah were one hundred and twenty seven years and she died, and Abraham made a great and heavy mourning, and he performed the rites of mourning for seven days.
:16 And all the inhabitants of the land comforted Abraham and Isaac his son on account of Sarah.
:17 And when the days of their mourning passed by Abraham sent away his son Isaac, and he went to the house of Shem and Eber, to learn the ways of the Lord and his instructions, and Abraham remained there three years.
Not only Abraham, but Isaac also was taught by Shem and Eber. This was a very close knit family. Jasher also shows that this happened yet again on one other occasion in chapter 28:
Jasher 28:17 - 25
:17 And after this Shelach the son of Arphachshad died in that year, which is the eighteenth year of the lives of Jacob and Esau; and all the days that Shelach lived were four hundred and thirty-three years and he died.
:18 At that time Isaac sent his younger son Jacob to the house of Shem and Eber, and he learned the instructions of the Lord, and Jacob remained in the house of Shem and Eber for thirty-two years, and Esau his brother did not go, for he was not willing to go, and he remained in his father's house in the land of Canaan.
:24 And it came to pass in those days, in the hundred and tenth year of the life of Isaac, that is in the fiftieth year of the life of Jacob, in that year died Shem the son of Noah; Shem was six hundred years old at his death.
:25 And when Shem died Jacob returned to his father to Hebron which is in the land of Canaan.
Wow! We don't think of these people living as historical contemporaries, let alone living together in the same house! But by the time Jacob came along, nearly all the patriarchs were dead. The life expectancy of these people now had been reduced to approximately the 120 years God had desired.