Was Melchizedek Noah’s Son Shem?

(By Pastor Mark Fontecchio)

Question: Was Melchizedek Noah’s son Shem?

Answer: A common Mormon belief is that Shem (Noah’s son) was Melchizedek. This can be tied directly to the corrupt teaching of the false prophet Joseph Smith.[1] This same teaching concerning Shem and Melchizedek has become a Jewish tradition. But is it true?

The debate often centers on chronologies, genealogies, manuscripts, and comparisons. Yet, for us as Christians we can be thankful that we have the completed canon of the New Testament because it settles the issue firmly. No, Melchizedek was not Shem. He was also not the preincarnate Christ.

It should be obvious that Jews do not base their claim on teaching from the New Testament. They often cite the Book of Jashar, the Talmud, and oral Jewish traditions. The Book of Jashar specifically states that Shem was Melchizedek. So why would we not believe this? After all, the Bible mentions the Book of Jashar in Joshua 10:12-13 and 2 Samuel 1:18-27.

Simply stated, the Book of Jashar that exists today is not the Book of Jashar that was mentioned in the Old Testament. It is an eighteenth-century forgery written by Alcuin (an eighteenth-century scholar) that claims to be a translation of the lost Book of Jashar. A second book claiming to be the Book of Jashar is often called the Pseudo-Jashar. This is a book of Jewish legends that did not even exist before 1625 A.D.

Despite the important truth that the Book of Jashar from the Bible is lost to us (and the modern Book of Jashar often teaches doctrine that is directly opposed to the Bible) many well-intentioned Christians use this as their primary proof that Shem was Melchizedek. Unfortunately, it is leading people to be deceived.

There are many problems with the theory that Shem was Melchizedek (geography, etc.). However, the biggest and most conclusive is the direct statements we have from Hebrews 7. Verses 1-2 state, “For this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham returning from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, to whom also Abraham gave a tenth part of all, first being translated ‘king of righteousness,’ and then also king of Salem, meaning ‘king of peace.’”

Melchizedek appeared once in Genesis 14, and he is referred to in Psalm 110 (which is quoted twice in this chapter of Hebrews). The Holy Spirit reached back into the Old Testament and used these two Old Testament texts to present an important biblical truth, that the priesthood of Jesus Christ is superior to that of Aaron.

For any Jew living in the first century, you would have believed that there was no priesthood other than the priesthood of Aaron. The kings of Israel descended from the tribe of Judah and the house of David. The priests descended from the tribe of Levi and the house of Aaron. These were two distinct and separate roles. The writer is showing that even the Law shows that there is a higher priesthood than this because Melchizedek was both a king and priest. Melchizedek literally means, “righteous king.” This was probably his title, not his actual name. Salem means, “peace.” This Old Testament story is found in Genesis 14. This Old Testament king was also a priest. It should be noted that there is archeological evidence that this king lived, exactly as described in the Bible.

The two qualities that characterized Melchizedek were righteousness and peace. If you understand who this man was, he points beautifully to Jesus Christ, because Christ is both King and Priest. Christ is also known as the Righteous One and the Prince of Peace throughout the world.

Salem was an ancient name for Jerusalem. Salem was later renamed Jerusalem. The Psalmist showed this when he said of God in Psalm 76:2, “In Salem also is His tabernacle, and His dwelling place in Zion.” Consider the teaching, this ancient city that became Jerusalem already had a king who was also a priest back in the days of Abraham. It will be this way again when the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords returns a second time and sits on His throne in Jerusalem. The Messianic King will have a kingdom centered in Jerusalem. It will be a kingdom of righteousness (God’s righteousness) and a kingdom of peace. Jesus is the King with the royal birthright of David from the tribe of Judah.

Remember what had happened in Genesis. Lot had been kidnapped (taken captive). Abraham rescued Lot and killed the four kings responsible for the abduction. Abraham was left with the rewards from battle. How does the writer of Hebrews prove that Melchizedek was a priest? He mentions that Melchizedek blessed Abraham. Melchizedek brought out bread and wine and blessed Abraham. What did Abraham do? Abraham paid tithes to him of all the spoils that he had taken of war.

The author in Hebrews is telling us four facts about Melchizedek:

• He was a king and priest
• He blessed others
• He received tithes
• He had a significant name

This was roughly 400 years before God established His priesthood through Aaron for the Hebrew people.

Consider verse 3 in Hebrews 7, “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.” This is still speaking of Melchizedek. Some people have tried to push this past the author’s original intent to suggest that this meant Melchizedek didn’t actually have a father or mother and so he must have been an angel. Considering how much of a problem angel worship was for the Hebrew Christians, the author would have made it clear if Melchizedek was an angel and would have reminded them not to worship him. This tells us this was not the intended meaning of the author.

Others think that this was Christ appearing in human form before His incarnation. We know this cannot be the case because then the author would be arguing that Christ was a priest after the order of Himself. In addition, Hebrews says here that Melchizedek was like the Son of God. He didn’t refer to Him as God. I would also argue that the context of Genesis 14 argues against it. Here is why. When Christ appeared in the Old Testament there was a purpose: It was to bring a message from God to man. That is not what is taking place in Genesis 14. Melchizedek was the King of Salem. If this was Christ, then He would have been ruling as King for an extended time. This is inconsistent with the role of God the Son in the Old Testament.

All that the author is doing in Hebrews is using a metaphor to say that from what we know of Melchizedek, Moses didn’t record anything about his father or his mother. Moses didn’t tell us about his birth or his death. This is certainly not the case concerning Shem (Genesis 5 shows his clear genealogy), so this would eliminate Shem as a possibility for being Melchizedek.

This ancient figure Melchizedek must have been appointed directly by God to this office. We don’t read of a priest that went before him and passed it on to him. He didn’t establish priests that would follow after him. He stands as a timeless priest and in this he represents the eternal Son of God because no one came before him in this office as a priest of God. We have no mention of anyone taking his place after he died. This man comes onto the pages of Scripture and leaves again without much notice. He remained a priest forever because no one took his position after him. This again, makes him like Christ. No genealogy contains his name. There are many lists of names in Genesis, but no genealogy contains his name, there is no record of his birth.

The author used by God to write Hebrews is telling us that before Aaron and the tribes of Levi was Melchizedek. He was both a king and priest who foreshadowed a greater King and Priest, Jesus Christ. Whoever this righteous man was, we know that he could not have been Shem.

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[1] In Lectures on Faith, Joseph Smith states clearly and unequivocally that Shem and Melchizedek are indeed one and the same person.