Typology: Part 3 Melchizedek, the Bread and the Wine

In Genesis 14, after Abraham rescues his nephew, he meets with Melchizedek. He was the king of Salem, the city which eventually became Jerusalem.

Melchizedek is only mentioned a couple times in the Old Testament, but his typology is discussed in the Book of Hebrews.

Genesis 14 v 17-20

After Abram returned from defeating Chedorlaomer and the kings allied with him, the king of Sodom went out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley).

Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine—since he was priest of God Most High and he blessed Abram and said:

“Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth, and blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand.”

Then Abram gave Melchizedek a tenth of everything.

Abram and Melchizedek

After the battle with the King Chedorlaomer, Melchizedek comes out to meet Abram. He brings bread and wine with him and blesses Abram. In return, Abram gives him a tenth of the spoils.

This is a mysterious encounter. He is not mentioned before in Abraham’s story, nor after. He appears for this one moment and then disappears.

Another point to note is that he was a king, but also a priest. If we look through the Old Testament kings, we can see there were no priest-kings.

These were common in the ancient pagan cultures, but the Israelite society, they had a separate royal and priestly function.

Typology of Priest-King

In the book of Hebrews, we see the writer use typology to show that Jesus was not a priest like Aaron, but a priest-king.

We see this mentioned in Psalms.

Psalm 110 v 4

The LORD has sworn and will not change His mind: “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.”

A priest in the order of Melchizedek is a priest-king. Someone who takes on the role of monarch as well as facilitate sacrifices.

Hebrews goes on to say:

Hebrews 7 v 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.

The phrase ‘without beginning of days or end of life’, is a phrase used in 1st Century Greek to denote a god.

The writer of Hebrews is not only saying that Jesus is a priest king, but also God. He is the Divine priest-king. He is the antitype to Melchizedek.

Typology of Bread and Wine

In the above story, Melchizedek brings out bread and wine for Abraham and the King of Sodom.

This isn’t highlighted by the writer of Hebrews, but there is an obvious typological connection with Christ at the Last Supper.

Christ is a type of Melchizedek. The Jews are represented by Abram and the King of Sodom represents the Gentiles. The Eucharist is available, not just for the Jews, but all nations and tribes.

Joseph, Bread and Wine Typology

We see the typology of Melchizedek in another place in the Bible. The bread and wine appears in the story of Joseph, when he is in jail with the Baker (bread) and the Cup-Bearer (wine).

The Baker dies, while the Cup-Bearer is raised up, and given back his position in the royal courts. Similarly, in the Communion, the bread is broken and the wine is elevated.