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Genesis 14:15-17
New Catholic Bible
Genesis 14:15-17
New Catholic Bible
15 He divided his forces and his servants, and defeated them during the night, following them all the way to Hobah, to the north of Damascus. 16 He recovered the booty and also Lot, his relative, and his possessions, as well as the women and the other people.
17 Meeting with Melchizedek near Jerusalem.[a] When Abram returned after defeating Chedorlaomer and the kings who were with him, the king of Sodom met him in the Valley of Shaveh, that is, the Valley of the King.
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Genesis 14:17 It is not impossible that Melchizedek, the Canaanite priest of the supreme god El had found faith in the true God (see Vatican II, Lumen gentium, no. 16). His offering of bread and wine was undoubtedly a sacrifice of thanksgiving (also known as a communion sacrifice), in which the gifts offered to the divinity were then divided among those present and consumed, to signify that human beings are called to table fellowship with God.
According to Hebrew exegetes, these two personages prefigure David, descendant of Abraham and distant successor of Melchizedek on the throne of Jerusalem. In blessing Abraham, Melchizedek was blessing David, the instrument of God’s conquests, who after conquering Jerusalem made it the center of worship of the Lord (2 Sam 6). At the same time, in paying homage to Melchizedek, Abraham was paying homage to Jerusalem, the city that the Lord would choose as his own dwelling and that from that time forward would worship the true God. It is clear that these visions needed to be broadened. According to Ps 110:4, Melchizedek prefigures Christ, a descendant of David, because only in this new David will kingship and priesthood be united again as they were long ago in Melchizedek; moreover, Christ will have an everlasting priesthood, different from the hereditary priesthood that began with Aaron. The Letter to the Hebrews, chapter 7, will explain the message of the psalm, saying that, since tithes are paid to a superior, Abraham’s action was one of homage to a priesthood higher than the Israelite temple priesthood. Behind the veil of the ancient priest-king we are therefore to discern the person of Christ, who in virtue of his own sacrifice that will be completed in Jerusalem is the true source of the blessing bestowed on Abraham, that is, his victory and liberation of prisoners (see a similar observation in 1 Cor 10:4) and all the victories of the people of God. For this reason the Christian tradition sees in Melchizedek’s sacrifice of bread and wine (see the First Eucharistic Prayer of the Mass, the Roman Canon) a sign and prediction of the Eucharist, which is the thanksgiving for the redemption wrought by Christ and a pledge of victory for believers who remain in union with him.
