Who was Melchizadek?

Melchizadek seems to be one of the enigmas of the Bible.  I began to wonder if he was a real person.  So I looked him up on JSH-Online.com.  Some folk may remember a series of short articles by Thomas Leishman which was published in the Christian Science Journal, titled The Continuity of the Scriptures. He speaks of Melchisadek as a real person. 

Mentions of him are very rare in the Scriptures, but Psalms, and Hebrews Chapters 5, 6, and 7 have the most.  My Bible Dictionary speaks of him as a supernatural figure having miraculous origin and indestructible life which foreshadowed the eternity of the Son of God.

Now this reminds me that Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures (by Mary Baker Eddy) has a remarkable paragraph about kings and priests (see page 141) –

    All revelation (such is the popular thought!) must come from the schools and along the line of scholarly and ecclesiastical descent, as kings are crowned from a royal dynasty. In healing the sick and sinning, Jesus elaborated the fact that the healing effect followed the understanding of the divine Principle and of the Christ-spirit which governed the corporeal Jesus. For this Principle there is no dynasty, no ecclesiastical monopoly. Its only crowned head is immortal sovereignty. Its only priest is the spiritualized man. The Bible declares that all believers are made “kings and priests unto God.” The outsiders did not then, and do not now, understand this ruling of the Christ; therefore they cannot demonstrate God’s healing power.  Neither can this manifestation of Christ be comprehended, until its divine Principle is scientifically understood.

I found it difficult to single out the sentence, “Its only priest is the spiritualized man.”  Hence my quoting of the full paragraph.

These chapters from Hebrews are big on priests.  I have just read the Bible Dictionary on priests.  My goodness!  There is a lot to comprehend.  So complicated, with all the duties and rituals to be held to.  During the Hellenic period (ca. 333 BC – AD 70) priests dominated the nation. The High Priest, as head of the temple, was the de facto head of government of Judea.  He dealt with the ruling powers, collected taxes, and was responsible for the spiritual welfare of the people.

I am interested that the writer of Hebrews must have given his or her readers credit for knowing the Hebrew Scriptures well to be acquainted with Melchisadek and with the functions of priests and kings throughout their history.

I certainly haven’t grasped all that this book has to teach me yet.

Joyce Voysey