but he whose genealogy is not counted from them has accepted tithes from Abraham, and has blessed him who has the promises.
Parallel Translations
-
but he whose genealogy is not counted from them has accepted tithes from Abraham, and has blessed him who has the promises.
-
But he whose kynred is not counted amonge them receaved tythes of Abraham and blessed him that had the promyses.
-
But he whose kindred is not couted among them, receiued tithes of Abraham, and blessed him that had the promises.
Cross-references (15)
Passages linked to Hebrews 7:6 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Romans 4:13 For the promise to Abraham and to his offspring that he should be heir of the world wasn’t through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.
- Genesis 13:14-17 Yahweh said to Abram, after Lot was separated from him, “Now, lift up your eyes, and look from the place where you are, northward and southward and eastward and westward, for I will give all the land which you see to you and to your offspring forever. I will make your offspring as the dust of the earth, so that if a man can count the dust of the earth, then your offspring may also be counted. Arise, walk through the land in its length and in its width; for I will give it to you.”
- Genesis 17:4-8 “As for me, behold, my covenant is with you. You will be the father of a multitude of nations. Your name will no more be called Abram, but your name will be Abraham; for I have made you the father of a multitude of nations. I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations of you. Kings will come out of you. I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God to you and to your offspring after you. I will give to you, and to your offspring after you, the land where you are traveling, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession. I will be their God.”
- Hebrews 7:3-4 without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like the Son of God), remains a priest continually. Now consider how great this man was, to whom even Abraham, the patriarch, gave a tenth out of the best plunder.
- Hebrews 11:17 By faith, Abraham, being tested, offered up Isaac. Yes, he who had gladly received the promises was offering up his one and only son,
- Genesis 12:2 I will make of you a great nation. I will bless you and make your name great. You will be a blessing.
- Genesis 14:19-20 He blessed him, and said, “Blessed be Abram of God Most High, possessor of heaven and earth. Blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand.” Abram gave him a tenth of all.
- Genesis 22:17-18 that I will bless you greatly, and I will multiply your offspring greatly like the stars of the heavens, and like the sand which is on the seashore. Your offspring will possess the gate of his enemies. All the nations of the earth will be blessed by your offspring, because you have obeyed my voice.’ ”
- Acts 3:25 You are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, saying to Abraham, ‘All the families of the earth will be blessed through your offspring.’
- Romans 9:4 who are Israelites; whose is the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service, and the promises;
- Galatians 3:16 Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his offspring. He doesn’t say, “To descendants”, as of many, but as of one, “To your offspring”, which is Christ.
- Hebrews 6:13-15 For when God made a promise to Abraham, since he could swear by no one greater, he swore by himself, saying, “Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you.” Thus, having patiently endured, he obtained the promise.
- Hebrews 7:1 For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of God Most High, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him,
- Genesis 12:13 Please say that you are my sister, that it may be well with me for your sake, and that my soul may live because of you.”
- Hebrews 11:13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them and embraced them from afar, and having confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (13 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Private notes
Saved on this device only — never synced or sent anywhere.
John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain 6. Blessed him, etc. This is the fifth comparison…
6. Blessed him, etc. This is the fifth comparison between Christ and Melchisedec. The Apostle assumes it as an admitted principle that the less is blessed by the greater; and then he adds that Melchisedec blessed Abraham: hence the conclusion is that the less was Abraham. But for the sake of strengthening his argument he again raises the dignity of Abraham; for the more glorious Abraham is made, the higher the dignity of Melchisedec appears. For this purpose he says that Abraham had the promises; by which he means that he was the first of the holy race with whom God made the covenant of eternal life. It was not indeed a common honor that God chose him from all the rest that he might deposit with him the privilege of adoption and the testimony of his love. But all this was no hindrance that he should not submit himself in all his preeminence to the priesthood of Melchisedec. We hence see how great he was to whom Abraham gave place in these two things, — that he suffered himself to be blessed by him, and that he offered him tithes as to God’s vicegerent.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 6 But he whose descent is not counted from…
6 But he whose descent is not counted from them received tithes of Abraham, and blessed him that had the promises.
Ver. 6. Received tithes of Abraham] Gr. δεδεκατωκε, tithed or tenthed Abraham, by the same divine right whereby he blessed him. Melchisedec did not take only that which Abraham was pleased to give him, but he tithed him, saith the text, he took the tenths as his due.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain The proof is here applied, showing Melchisedec to be…
The proof is here applied, showing Melchisedec to be greater, not than the Levitical priest only, but than Abraham himself.
But he whose descent is not counted from them; he drew not his genealogy from any priests before him, but is greater than those priests, who by genealogy and succession were made such, and set above their brethern by God himself: he being independent, having no progenitor, priest, or successor, is greater than whom he decimateth.
Read full note →
Received tithes of Abraham, and blessed him that had the promises; he decimated Abraham, the father of the Levitical priests, and by the Most High’s order blessed him, by assuring him of his peace with God, grace continually from him, and multiplying temporal and spiritual blessings to him, according as God promised, Gen 15:1, &c. And this he did to him, though Abraham was a patriarch, and privileged with promises above any other; yet though God were made over to him in all his fulness, the blessing given him of fatherhood to a numerous nation, even the visible church of God among Israel, as to all believing Gentiles, who had Canaan literally promised to his posterity, and even this Salem, among the rest, of which Melchisedec was king, and the heavenly Canaan to himself; and above all, the promised Messiah to descend from him, in whom himself and all nations were to be blessed; he, so great in promises, is tithed and blessed by a greater Melchisedec.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain But he whose descent is not counted from them,…
But he whose descent is not counted from them, &c. That is, Melchizedek, whose genealogy or pedigree is not reckoned from the Levites, nor from any from whom they descend; his lineal descent is not the same with theirs; and so did not receive tithes by any law, as they did, but by virtue of his superiority: received tithes of Abraham; not from the people, or his brethren, but from Abraham, the father of the people of Israel, and of Levi himself:
and blessed him that had the promises; of a Son, and of the Messiah, that should spring from him, in whom all nations should be blessed, and of the land of Canaan, and of the blessings of grace and glory. This shows that Melchizedek had a descent, though it was not known; and that, since his descent was not the same with the Levites, he was a more proper type of Christ, who belonged not to that, but another tribe.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain He who is not from them - The Levites…
He who is not from them - The Levites Blessed - Another proof of his superiority. Even him that had the promises - That was so highly favoured of God. When St. Paul speaks of Christ, he says, "the promise;" promises refer to other blessings also.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 6. Blessed him that had the promises.] This…
Verse 6. Blessed him that had the promises.] This is a continuation of the same argument, namely, to show the superiority of Melchisedec; and, in consequence, to prove the superiority of the priesthood of Christ beyond that of Aaron. As in the seed of Abraham all the nations of the earth were to be blessed, Abraham received a sacerdotal blessing from Melchisedec, who was the representative of the Messiah, the promised seed, to show that it was through him, as the high priest of the human race, that this blessing was to be derived on all mankind.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain But he whose descent is not counted from them…
But he whose descent is not counted from them - Melchizedek. The word “descent” is “pedigree” in the margin. The meaning is, that he was not “in the same genealogy” - μὴ γενεαλογούμενος mē genealogoumenos - he was not of the order of Levitical priests. That Melchizedek is meant there can be no doubt; at the same time, also, the thought is presented with prominence on which Paul so much insists, that he was of a different order from the Levitical priesthood.
And blessed him - Blessed him as a priest of God; blessed him in such a manner as to imply acknowledged superiority; see Heb 7:1.
Read full note →
That had the promises - The promise that he should have a numerous posterity; that in him all the nations of the earth should be blessed; see Heb 6:12-16.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain he whose descent is not counted from them--not from…
he whose descent is not counted from them--not from "the sons of Levi," as those "who receive the priesthood." This verse explains "without descent" (Greek, "genealogy" in both verses, Heb 7:3). He who needs not, as the Levitical priests, to be able to trace his genealogy back to Levi.
received--Greek, "hath received tithes."
Read full note →
blessed--Greek, "hath blessed." The perfect tense implies that the significance of the fact endures to the present time.
him that had--"the possessor of the promises," Abraham's peculiar distinction and designation. Paul exalts Abraham in order still more to exalt Melchisedec. When Christ is the subject, the singular "promise" is used. "The promises" in the plural, refer to God's promise of greatness to himself and his seed, and of the possession of Canaan, twice repeated before the blessing of Melchisedec. As the priests, though above the people (Heb 7:7) whom it was their duty to "bless," were yet subordinate to Abraham; and as Abraham was subordinate to Melchisedec, who blessed him, Melchisedec must be much above the Levitical priests.
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 6. Descent is not counted—Unlineal Melchizedek, in contrast with…
6. Descent is not counted—Unlineal Melchizedek, in contrast with lineal Levites.
Received tithes—As being pontiff, treating Abraham himself as Levites treat ordinary sons of Abraham.
Read full note →
Blessed him—As a pontiff blesses his spiritual subjects.
Promises—Note on Heb_6:12. This type of the Messiah is therein superior to the progenitor of Messiah.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain 6. and blessed] Lit., and hath blessed. Second point…
6. and blessed] Lit., and hath blessed. Second point of superiority. The act is regarded as permanent and still continuous in its effects, in accordance with the writer’s manner of regarding Scripture as a living and present entity.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (6) Whose descent.—Better, whose genealogy (Heb_7:3).
(6) Whose descent.—Better, whose genealogy (Heb_7:3).
Received tithes.—Rather, hath taken tithes of Abraham, and hath blessed him that hath the promises. In Melchizedek we see a man who, though no law gave him pre-eminence, takes tithes of Abraham, and therefore appears in Scripture as holding a position of inherent and acknowledged superiority. This superiority is not dwelt upon, for the same thought will be presented still more strikingly in connection with the blessing (Heb_7:8). “Hath taken tithes,” “hath blessed:” here, as in many other passages, the writer refers to facts recorded in Scripture not as belonging to the past, but as they now stand before us in the unchanging and ever present word of God.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain 6. But he whose descent is not counted from…
6. But he whose descent is not counted from them. Melchizedek, who was not of the blood of Abraham or tribe of Levi, received tithes of Abraham, not because of the law, but because of his transcendent dignity.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 7:6b-7 Melchizedek placed a blessing upon Abraham: Gen 14:19-20;…
7:6b-7 Melchizedek placed a blessing upon Abraham: Gen 14:19-20; this is an example of the kind of blessing that a superior would give a subordinate—e.g., a father would bless his son, and a priest would bless his people (Gen 49:1-28; Num 6:22-27). The power to give a blessing demonstrates that Melchizedek is greater than Abraham.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.