malkî-ṣedeq

Semantic range

1. 1malkî: my king
2. 2ṣedeq: righteousness, rightness
3. 3king of Salem — Hebrews 7:2 reads Salem as šālôm, peace

Three verses in Genesis 14 introduce a priest-king who blesses Abram, receives tithes, and vanishes. Psalm 110:4 turns him into a category — "thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek" — and Hebrews 5–7 builds an entire argument about a priesthood older and greater than Levi's.

Restoration scripture fills the gap. D&C 107:1–4 explains that the higher priesthood was originally called "the Holy Priesthood, after the Order of the Son of God," renamed out of reverence to avoid the too-frequent repetition of that name. JST Genesis 14 and Alma 13 give Melchizedek a fuller biography and make his order the pattern by which men are called and prepared.

See also

• כֹּהֵןkōhēn
• מַעֲשֵׂרmaʿăśēr
• צְדָקָהṣədāqāh