Hebrews 7:4

A priest like Melchizedek

4 See how great Melchizedek was! Abraham, the father of the people, gave him a tenth of everything he captured.

Hebrews 7:4 Meaning and Commentary

Hebrews 7:4

Now consider how great this man was
Melchizedek, of whom so many great and wonderful things are said in the preceding verses: and as follows,

unto whom the patriarch Abraham gave the tenth of the spoils;
of Abraham's giving tithes to him, (See Gill on Hebrews 7:2) and Melchizedek's greatness is aggravated, not only from this act of Abraham's, but from Abraham's being a "patriarch", who did it; he was the patriarch of patriarchs, as the sons of Jacob are called, ( Acts 7:8 Acts 7:9 ) he is the patriarch of the whole Jewish nation, and of many nations, and of all believers, the friend of God, and heir of the world; how great then must Melchizedek be, to whom he paid tithes? and how much greater must Christ, the antitype of Melchizedek, be?

Hebrews 7:4 In-Context

2 Abraham gave a tenth of everything to him. His name means first "king of righteousness," and then "king of Salem," that is, "king of peace."

3 He is without father or mother or any family. He has no beginning or end of life, but he's like God's Son and remains a priest for all time.

4 See how great Melchizedek was! Abraham, the father of the people, gave him a tenth of everything he captured.

5 The descendants of Levi who receive the office of priest have a commandment under the Law to collect a tenth of everything from the people who are their brothers and sisters, though they also are descended from Abraham.

6 But Melchizedek, who isn't related to them, received a tenth of everything from Abraham and blessed the one who had received the promises.