Both Old Testament texts that reference Melchizedek have contexts which are crucial to understanding why the author of Hebrews would use them like he does. The first text the Hebrews’ author uses is found in Genesis 14, though he does not quote from this chapter (Beale 967). The appearance of Melchizedek in that chapter is precipitated by a war between a powerful confederacy of four eastern kings and a rebellious group of five kings led by Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 14:1-4). War broke out because the latter refused to pay annual tribute to the eastern kings (Gen. 14:4; Mathews 142). When the two armies met in battle, the four eastern kings put the five to flight (Gen. 14:8-10). The greedy eastern kings plundered all the cities of the defeated rebels, taking Abram’s nephew, Lot, with them (Gen. 14:11-12). Ironically, the abduction of Lot led to the undoing of this confederacy (Mathews 145). …show more content…
14:14). He launches a night assault on the eastern confederacy, and apparently, he easily routed them (Gen. 14:15). He thus rescues Lot, the people the kings took captive, and all the spoil they retrieved (Gen. 14:16). Upon Abram’s return to Sodom, the king of that city meets him, though Moses, the author of Genesis, offers a striking contrast between the selfish Sodomite king and the gracious king of Salem, Melchizedek (Gen. 14:17; Mathews 145-46). This contrast is that Melchizedek provides bread, wine, and a blessing for Abram (Gen. 14:18-20). The greatest contrast, however, is observed by the Hebrews’ author as the superiority of Melchizedek over Abram since he received a tenth of the spoils from the patriarch (Heb. 7:4,