Charlesworth; New York: Doubleday, [] 1. Charles, and W. Meshcherskij, "Sledy pamjatnikov Kumrana v staroslavjanskoj i drevnerusskoj literature K izucheniju slavjanskih versij knigi Enoha ," Trudy otdela drevnerusskoj literatury 19 ; N. Meshcherskij, "K voprosu ob istochnikah slavjanskoj knigi Enoha," Kratkie soobshchenija Instituta narodov Azii 86 ; J.
Zwi Werblowsky; Leiden: E. Brill, ; A. Sokolov, "Materialy i zametki po starinnoj slavjanskoj literature. Vypusk tretij, VII. Slavjanskaja Kniga Enoha Pravednogo. Teksty, latinskij perevod i izsledovanie. Posmertnyj trud avtora prigotovil k izdaniju M. Paris, ; J. Aptowitzer, "Malkizedek. De Boccard, ; De Jonge, M.
Gammie, "Loci of the Melchizedek Tradition of Gen. Melkiresa o Melki-sedeq? Gianotto, Melchizedek e la sua tipologia: Tradizioni giudiche, cristiane e gnostiche sec II a. III d. C SrivB, 12; Paideia, ; I. Smith, "Abram and Melchizedek Gen. Deichert, ; G. Charles and W. There were a number of attempts to interpret this enigmatic name. One of them was Vaillant's hypothesis that Slavonic "Nir" equals Semitic rn , and can be taken in its etymological sense as "light.
Vaillant, xii. Vaillant's argument probably refers to the "light-like appearence" of Noah in Ethiopic Enoch: "His eyes are like the rays of the sun, and his face glorious" The hypothesis has many weak points. Rubinstein shows the difficulty of this explanation, because the "dedoublement" of Noah in Slavonic Enoch is related to the description of Melchizedek, not Nir see our discussion about Noah-Melchizedek's birth.
Rubinstein also stresses that there is nothing miraculous about Nir in 2 Enoch and he Nir can be described as a "sacerdotal drudge. Rubinstein notes a remote possibility that the name of Nir was chosen with an eye to the figurative use of the term rn in the Old Testament for the description of "dominion" of David's descendants. He further suggests that "it is not impossible that an oral exegesis of the Melchizedek legend in Slavonic Enoch somehow connected Melchizedek and Nir with Davidic descent, though the fact that Nir is only said to have adopted Melchizedek is an obvious difficulty.
Finally, J. Milik argues that Nir "certainly means 'luminary,' because the author of 2 Enoch doubtless drew on the name of the wife of Noah, Nwriva , meaning 'Fire of God'. In my opinion, one more possible explanation of the name Nir can be suggested. This interpretation can be connected with the meaning of Nir as "clearing, breaking ground or earth.
Jastrow in his dictionary defines ryn as "to break ground," "to clear. According to Jastrow it can mean "new broken land' in some instances.
In 2 Enoch the destiny of Nir is connected with "clearing of the Earth. At the very end of 2 Enoch , Nir says: "For I know indeed that this race will end in confusion, and everyone will perish, except that Noah, my brother, will be preserved in that generation for procreation.
Vaillant, Rubinstein tries to connect this proper name with the facts of Sothonim's biography. Rachel travailed, and had a difficult labor and as her soul was departing Rubinstein, Observations , Andersen concludes that "it is certainly not an imitation of the account of Jesus' birth found in Matthew and Luke No Christian could have developed such a blasphemy.
The hypothesis is supported by the fact that Sothonim hid herself from Nir during days of her pregnancy. The text of 2 Enoch defines this place as the center of the world, "the place Achuzan, i.
Compare with Ezek where the Hebrew word hzja "special property of God" applies to Jerusalem and the Temple. Seder Nedarim London: Soncino Press, Without such records human priests could not serve Ezra But here Melchizedek had no genealogy.
He must not have been an ordinary mortal. He had no descent or pedigree from another, but was self-existent. Notice Paul's own inspired interpretation of this fact: "Having neither beginning of days, nor end of life" Hebrews Therefore He has always existed from eternity! He was not even created, like angels. But He is now eternally self-existing. And that is true only of G OD deity, not humanity!
Yet Melchizedek cannot be God the Father. He was the "priest of that Most High God. He cannot be God the Father, but rather, "made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually" Hebrews And there it is! Notice again: Melchizedek, this scripture reveals, abides that is, remains permanently, continually, a priest.
Yet, in the days when the Apostle Paul lived and wrote, shortly after Jesus ascended to heaven as High Priest, the scripture states that even then Melchizedek "abideth "—which means does now abide—"a priest continually.
And notice that the order of Christ's Priesthood is named after Melchizedek. It is the High Priest's name that is placed upon an order just as Aaron's name was upon the Aaronic priesthood. And at the same time Christ was, is today, and shall be forever High Priest! Are there two High Priests'? Unlike nearly everyone mentioned in Genesis and other books, Melchizedek has no recorded father, no genealogy.
He is not the "son of" anyone. If a man by that name ever existed, he's been long lost to time. But exploring how the meaning of Melchizedek has been interpreted and reinterpreted over time is equally fascinating and instructive. Let's start with the account in Genesis, which appears straightforward at first, but is as problematic as they come.
Genesis 14 starts off as a chronicle of war. After 12 years of servitude, there was an uprising, which Kedorlaomer quashed with a vengeance, seizing captives and booty from the rebelling cities.
Among those captured, Genesis 14 tells us, was Lot, the nephew of "Abram the Hebrew. But Abram was a wealthy and powerful landowner, so he decided to go save his nephew. Abram took well-trained servants and attacked Kedorlaomer at night, chasing the enemy to Damascus and retrieving the stolen goods and people, including Lot. Here's where things get interesting. Lot and his family lived in Sodom. When Abram makes his triumphant return, he's first greeted by the king of Sodom identified earlier in the chapter as Bera.
But before the king of Sodom has a chance to talk, Genesis introduces a new character not previously mentioned in the long lists of warring kings. In verses , it says:. As we'll see, a lot has been made of those short verses. Here was a priest of "God Most High," — understood as the one true God of Judaism, Christianity and Islam — blessing Abram, who would soon become the patriarch of God's chosen people.
And here was Abram paying a tithe to this high priest, whose elevated position and authority predates all of the ancient prophets. Yet right after this momentous occasion in the history of monotheism, Melchizedek disappears.
In the very next verse, we're back to the king of Sodom, who offers Abram a share of the spoils, which Abram, being a righteous man, refuses. Explore the Bible with us! We create research-based articles and handy infographics to help people understand the Bible.
Get the good stuff! Paul Gros on April 4, at pm. Jeffrey Kranz on April 7, at pm. Natasha Adamson on April 30, at pm. Elena Alvarez on April 27, at am. Yorkie Collier on February 10, at am. I have truely found this fascinating. Christine Owens-Huck on November 5, at am. Ann Ledford on October 13, at pm. Patsy Allison on September 16, at am. Looking forward to the Hebrews study: one of my favorites. Jeffrey Kranz on September 16, at am.
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