Bible Strands
Hebrews 7:6
But Melchizedek, who did not trace his descent from Levi, collected a tenth from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The author of Hebrews addresses Jewish Christians familiar with the Mosaic law to explain how Melchizedek’s priesthood surpasses the Levitical order. This argument occurs during a theological exposition contrasting the old covenant priesthood with Christ’s eternal priesthood.
The words — The Greek term γενεαλογοούμενος (genealogoumenos) literally means “tracing his ancestry,” describing Melchizedek’s lack of recorded lineage. The verb δεδεκάτωκεν (dedekatōken) indicates he “has collected a tenth,” establishing a pre-Levitical tithe.
The thread — The tithe given to Melchizedek appears in Genesis 14:20, while the promise to Abraham is developed in Genesis 17:4 and Romans 4:13. These passages show the promise and blessing precede and operate outside the Mosaic law.
Why it lands — The text states that Melchizedek, without a Levi lineage, received a tithe from Abraham and blessed him. A reader must acknowledge that blessing and revenue flow from a superior, non-Levitical source, which reorients reliance from genealogical priesthood to the promise.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
But he whose descent is not counted from them received tithes of Abraham, and blessed him that had the promises.
Cross-references
- Romans 4:13 For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world was not given through the law, but through the righteousness that comes by faith.
- Genesis 13:14 After Lot had departed, the LORD said to Abram, “Now lift up your eyes from the place where you are, and look to the north and south and east and west,
- Genesis 17:4 “As for Me, this is My covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations.
- Hebrews 7:3 Without father or mother or genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, like the Son of God, he remains a priest for all time.
- Hebrews 11:17 By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac on the altar. He who had received the promises was ready to offer his one and only son,
- Genesis 12:2 I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, so that you will be a blessing.
- Genesis 14:19 and he blessed Abram and said: “Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth,
- Genesis 22:17 I will surely bless you, and I will multiply your descendants like the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will possess the gates of their enemies.
- Acts 3:25 And you are sons of the prophets and of the covenant God made with your fathers when He said to Abraham, ‘Through your offspring all the families of the earth will be blessed.’
- Romans 9:4 the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption as sons; theirs the divine glory and the covenants; theirs the giving of the law, the temple worship, and the promises.