Hebrews 7:14

14 It is clear that our Lord came from the family line of Judah. Moses said nothing about priests who were from that tribe.

Hebrews 7:14 Meaning and Commentary

Hebrews 7:14

For it is evident that our Lord sprang out of Judah
Out of the tribe of Judah; it is certain that the Messiah was to spring from that tribe, ( Genesis 49:10 ) ( 1 Chronicles 5:2 ) he was to be of the family of Jesse, and of the house of David; and hence he is sometimes called David himself; and so the Jews expect that he will come from the tribe of Judah, and not from any other F16; and it is evident that Jesus, who is our Lord by creation, redemption, and the conquest of his grace, sprung from this tribe: this is clear from the place of his birth, Bethlehem of Judah; and from his reputed father Joseph, and real mother Mary, being both of the house of David; and this was known to the Jews, and it is owned by them that he was near to the kingdom F17, which he could not be if he was not of that tribe; and hence he is called the lion of the tribe of Judah;

of which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning the priesthood:
he said many things of it in ( Deuteronomy 33:8 ) and relates many things concerning it as spoken by Jacob, but nothing about the priesthood, as if it belonged to that, or that any that should spring from it should exercise that office, The Alexandrian copy, the Claromontane manuscript, and the Vulgate Latin version, read, "concerning the priests"; whence it follows that there is a change of the priesthood, and that the Messiah, as he was not to be, so he is not a priest of Aaron's order, not being of the same tribe.


FOOTNOTES:

F16 Raya Mehimna in Zohar in Exod. fol. 49. 3. Tzeror Hammor, fol. 62. 2.
F17 T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 43. 1.

Hebrews 7:14 In-Context

12 A change of priests requires a change of law.
13 Those things are said about one who is from a different tribe. No one from that tribe has ever served at the altar.
14 It is clear that our Lord came from the family line of Judah. Moses said nothing about priests who were from that tribe.
15 But suppose another priest like Melchizedek appears. Then what we have said is even more clear.
16 He has not become a priest because of a rule about his family line. He has become a priest because of his powerful life. His life can never be destroyed.
Holy Bible, New International Reader's Version® Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998 by Biblica.   All rights reserved worldwide.