Melchizedek (/mɛl.ˈkɪz.ə.dɪk/;[1]Hebrew: מַלְכִּי־צֶדֶֿק, malkī-ṣeḏeq, Amharic: መልከ ጼዴቅ, (also rendered Malki-Tzedek) "my king is righteous(ness)"), is the king of Salem and priest of El Elyon("God most high") mentioned in the 14th chapter of the Book of Genesis. He brings out bread and wine and blesses Abram and El Elyon.[2]
Chazalic literature—specifically Targum Jonathan, Targum Yerushalmi, and the Babylonian Talmud—presents the name (מלכי־צדק) as a nickname title for Shem, the son of Noah.[3]
In Christianity, according to the Epistle to the Hebrews, Jesus Christ is identified as "a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek", and so Jesus assumes the role of High Priest once and for all. Melchizedek is venerated as a saint both in Latin and in Eastern Orthodox tradition. The name is composed from the two elements melek(h) "king" and ṣedeq"righteous(ness)".[5] With the addition of the enclitic possessive pronoun (-ī), malk-ī means "my king", so that the name literally translates to "my king is righteousness" (or "my king is Ṣedeq").[6] By the Hellenistic era it appears the name came to be associated with the messiah and paraphrased as "king of righteousness".[7]
