Open Genesis 14. The first half is a war. Four kings out of the east sweep down through the Transjordan and put down one clan after another, names most of us read straight past. Rephaim. Zuzim. Emim. Horites. Then they take Sodom, and they take Lot with it, and Abram goes after them with three hundred and eighteen men and wins.
The second half is four verses.
A priest-king walks out of Salem with bread and wine, blesses Abram, receives a tenth of everything he recovered, and leaves the page. No father. No mother. No tribe. No lineage of any kind, in a book that will not let a minor son go unlisted.
Two things, sitting side by side in one chapter. I have never once heard them preached together.
That is where this is going.
One text to have on the pile for part two, if it is not there already. 11QMelchizedek, from Cave 11.
It is the missing middle between your four verses in Genesis 14 and Hebrews 7. In it Melchizedek is a heavenly figure who proclaims the year of release and carries out the judgments of God, and the scroll applies Psalm 82:1 to him, God has taken his place in the divine assembly, with Melchizedek standing in the elohim slot. Somebody at Qumran had already made him considerably more than a Canaanite king with bread, and they did it before Hebrews was written.
That is the part I have never settled for myself. Whether Hebrews is arguing against that reading or quietly assuming it. The no father and no mother line lands differently depending on the answer.
Not only an I well familiar with 11QMelchizedek, but later in the series I'll be laying out the strongest arguments for each interpretation of his identity.
I won't tell you what to believe, that's between you and the Holy Spirit. But I will tell you which direction I lean and why.
But that's not part 2. In the next post we'll be diving into who the Rephaim were and dealing with some of the implications of those answers.
Rephaim is the one I will be reading closely, because the word will not sit still.
The place I did not expect to hit it was Proverbs 9. Verse 18 says that Folly's guest does not know the dead are there, that those she invited are in the depths of Sheol, and the word behind dead is rephaim. Same consonants as the clans Chedorlaomer went to war with in your chapter. A wisdom poem about a dinner invitation, and the guest list is the shades.
If you are handling the underworld sense alongside the warrior sense, that is the part I want to see you do. Most treatments pick a lane and stay in it.
As I hope my history illustrates, I try to be as thorough as I can. We're diving into Ugaritic material, linguistics, differing translations, and a lot else. And I'd be willing to bet that at least one surprise will be waiting for you.
Just bear in mind that there are still 2 more posts coming. One on Deeper Still this coming Wednesday and then a conclusion here on my publication the following Wednesday 🙂
Wow! I LOVE this entire piece. Taking apart a chapter I could not make heads or tails of. And there are so many that go into that same drawer. Ty both so much for diving into what most do not. I am feasting on the knowledge imparted! 🙌🏻
Excellent!!! I love the tandem writing also!
I'm so glad you're enjoying it!
I love it!!! I love all your stuff. Profound! And a blessing.
Really looking forward to this series!
I picked up some books on Curious last night. I’m hooked. 🪝
I'm excited for you to see where this is going! Lawrence has some awesome work coming up.
And I'm so glad you're enjoying what I do.
God bless 🙏🏻
One text to have on the pile for part two, if it is not there already. 11QMelchizedek, from Cave 11.
It is the missing middle between your four verses in Genesis 14 and Hebrews 7. In it Melchizedek is a heavenly figure who proclaims the year of release and carries out the judgments of God, and the scroll applies Psalm 82:1 to him, God has taken his place in the divine assembly, with Melchizedek standing in the elohim slot. Somebody at Qumran had already made him considerably more than a Canaanite king with bread, and they did it before Hebrews was written.
That is the part I have never settled for myself. Whether Hebrews is arguing against that reading or quietly assuming it. The no father and no mother line lands differently depending on the answer.
Fear not!
Not only an I well familiar with 11QMelchizedek, but later in the series I'll be laying out the strongest arguments for each interpretation of his identity.
I won't tell you what to believe, that's between you and the Holy Spirit. But I will tell you which direction I lean and why.
But that's not part 2. In the next post we'll be diving into who the Rephaim were and dealing with some of the implications of those answers.
Rephaim is the one I will be reading closely, because the word will not sit still.
The place I did not expect to hit it was Proverbs 9. Verse 18 says that Folly's guest does not know the dead are there, that those she invited are in the depths of Sheol, and the word behind dead is rephaim. Same consonants as the clans Chedorlaomer went to war with in your chapter. A wisdom poem about a dinner invitation, and the guest list is the shades.
If you are handling the underworld sense alongside the warrior sense, that is the part I want to see you do. Most treatments pick a lane and stay in it.
As I hope my history illustrates, I try to be as thorough as I can. We're diving into Ugaritic material, linguistics, differing translations, and a lot else. And I'd be willing to bet that at least one surprise will be waiting for you.
Post drops tomorrow morning on Deeper Still.
Listen to this twice. I’ll be back after the Sabbath to finish the series… clearly another excellent one.
That's great!
Just bear in mind that there are still 2 more posts coming. One on Deeper Still this coming Wednesday and then a conclusion here on my publication the following Wednesday 🙂
Wow! I LOVE this entire piece. Taking apart a chapter I could not make heads or tails of. And there are so many that go into that same drawer. Ty both so much for diving into what most do not. I am feasting on the knowledge imparted! 🙌🏻
Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed 🙏🏾
That's fantastic! I'm so glad it's been a help to you 😁