Hebrews 7:9-11
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
9 One might even say that Levi[a] himself, who receives tithes, was tithed through Abraham, 10 for he was still in his father’s loins when Melchizedek met him.
11 [b]If, then, perfection came through the levitical priesthood, on the basis of which the people received the law, what need would there still have been for another priest to arise according to the order of Melchizedek, and not reckoned according to the order of Aaron?(A)
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- 7:9 Levi: for the author this name designates not only the son of Jacob mentioned in Genesis but the priestly tribe that was thought to be descended from him.
- 7:11–14 The levitical priesthood was not typified by the priesthood of Melchizedek, for Ps 110:4 speaks of a priesthood of a new order, the order of Melchizedek, to arise in messianic times (Hb 7:11). Since the levitical priesthood served the Mosaic law, a new priesthood (Hb 7:12) would not come into being without a change in the law itself. Thus Jesus was not associated with the Old Testament priesthood, for he was a descendant of the tribe of Judah, which had never exercised the priesthood (Hb 7:13–14).
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