Hebrews 7:10

10 Levi was not yet born, but he was in the body of his ancestor when Melchizedek met Abraham.

Hebrews 7:10 Meaning and Commentary

Hebrews 7:10

For he was yet in the loins of his father
Abraham; namely, Levi and his whole posterity; which is to be understood seminally, just as all mankind were in the loins of Adam, when he sinned and fell, and so they sinned and fell in him; and so Levi was in Abraham's loins,

when Melchisedec met him;
which, as it proves Melchizedek to be greater than Levi, and much more Jesus Christ, who is a priest of his order, which is the grand thing the apostle has in view; so it serves to illustrate several points of doctrine, in which either of the public heads, Adam and Christ, are concerned, with respect to their seed and offspring; such as personal election in Christ, an eternal donation of all blessings of grace to the elect in him, eternal justification in him, the doctrine of original sin, and the saints' crucifixion, burial, resurrection, and session in Christ, and together with him.

Hebrews 7:10 In-Context

8 Priests receive a tenth, even though they are only men who live and then die. But Melchizedek, who received a tenth from Abraham, continues living, as the Scripture says.

9 We might even say that Levi, who receives a tenth, also paid it when Abraham paid Melchizedek a tenth.

10 Levi was not yet born, but he was in the body of his ancestor when Melchizedek met Abraham.

11 The people were given the lawn based on a system of priests from the tribe of Levi, but they could not be made perfect through that system. So there was a need for another priest to come, a priest like Melchizedek, not Aaron.

12 And when a different kind of priest comes, the law must be changed, too.