Hebrews 7:10

10 inasmuch as he was still in his ancestor Avraham's body when Malki-Tzedek met him.

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 Moreover, in the case of the cohanim, the tenth is received by men who die; while in the case of Malki-Tzedek, it is received by someone who is testified to be still alive.

9 One might go even further and say that Levi, who himself receives tenths, paid a tenth through Avraham;

10 inasmuch as he was still in his ancestor Avraham's body when Malki-Tzedek met him.

11 Therefore, if it had been possible to reach the goal through the system of cohanim derived from Levi (since in connection with it, the people were given the Torah), what need would there have been for another, different kind of cohen, the one spoken of as to be compared with Malki-Tzedek and not to be compared with Aharon?

12 For if the system of cohanim is transformed, there must of necessity occur a transformation of Torah.