It is my desire to use my retirement to write a book about an Epistle that deserves to be considered in light of how history and theology combine. I am posting what I may use as a prologue to see if it wets the appetite of readers for more.
Prologue
Before opening the Epistle to the Hebrews for examination,
it seems useful to look at a story from the Second Book of Samuel about Uziah,
King of Judah, whose fifty-two-year rule lasted from about 790 to 739 B.C.,
beginning when he was only sixteen years of age. Let us look at some of the
account from II Chronicles chapter 26. First of all, we see that he was a
righteous king: “And he did that which was right in
the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father Amaziah did (v.4).”
We will pick up at v. 16.
But when he was strong, his heart was
lifted up to his destruction: for he transgressed against the LORD his God, and
went into the temple of the LORD to burn incense upon the altar of incense.
And Azariah the priest went in after him, and with him fourscore priests of the
LORD, that were valiant men: And they withstood Uzziah the king, and
said unto him, It appertaineth not unto thee, Uzziah, to burn incense unto the
LORD, but to the priests the sons of Aaron, that are consecrated to burn
incense: go out of the sanctuary; for thou hast trespassed; neither shall it be
for thine honor from the LORD God. Then Uzziah was wroth, and had a
censer in his hand to burn incense: and while he was wroth with the priests,
the leprosy even rose up in his forehead before the priests in the house of the
LORD, from beside the incense altar. And Azariah the chief priest, and
all the priests, looked upon him, and, behold, he was leprous in his forehead,
and they thrust him out from thence; yea, himself hasted also to go out,
because the LORD had smitten him. And Uzziah the king was a leper unto
the day of his death, and dwelt in a several house, being a leper; for he was
cut off from the house of the LORD: and Jotham his son was over the king's
house, judging the people of the land. (vs. 16-21)
The text tells us that “his heart was lifted up,” and ascribes his presumption to the sin of pride. Nonetheless, no king of Judah had ever presumed to usurp the priestly office, the office of the Kohanim, that belonged exclusively to the sons of Aaron, the brother of Moses since the time of the Exodus. What had entered into the mind of this king, one of the few who was generally a good and righteous king, that emboldened him to assume a priestly role based on his royal position? It is difficult to find what it was that seems to have created in his mind a confusion between his role and that of the male descendants of Aaron, but once we see it, it actually makes logical sense. Yes, he should have added to his learning the traditional teaching that he was reminded of, urgently reminded of, by Azariah and the other Levitical priests. But it seems apparent that his pride was that of a young man with a bit of education, a sophomore of sorts, too proud to heed those whose learning was more complete.
Indeed,
there was an old tradition from the Book of Genesis that showed an
understanding that was already ancient in the time of Uziah. The story is that
of Abraham who was blessed by, and paid tithes to, Melchizedek (Genesis
14:12-18). This mysterious man is described very simply, “And Melchizedek the king of Salem
brought out bread and wine, and he was a priest to the Most High God.” In
fact, this priest even had the word “king” in his name, which means “King of
Justice,” or “King of Righteousness.” Salem (Shalem), which means Peace,
is a very ancient name for what later became known as Jerusalem to this day. Perhaps
Psalm 110 was used as a coronation Psalm for the kings of Judah. It opens with
the words “The LORD (YHVH) said unto my Lord, ‘Sit thou on my right hand.’” In
the fourth verse these words appear:
“The LORD hath sworn, and will not repent, ‘Thou art a priest for
ever after the order of Melchizedek.’”
Having a memory of those words addressed to him when he was sixteen, he may have long considered it his right to assert a priestly role as a privilege to be exercised by the king in Jerusalem, a right that went back to Melchizedek himself. The possible confusion in his mind may well have been strengthened by the record we see today in the actual Hebrew words of II Samuel 8:18, which I translate literally: “And the sons of David were priests (V’b’nai David Kohanim hua).”1 I noticed that when reading the Hebrew text, and saw that English translations were mostly deficient, saying things like “royal officials” or, as even the translators of the court of King James were unwilling to deal with the seeming contradiction, “chief rulers.”
I finally found, with no surprise, a correct rendering
in Robert Alter’s translation (“And David’s sons served as priests”). Alter’s
explanation, in a footnote, is that “This curious detail is probably parallel
to a palace guard of foreign origins: just as David creates an elite military
contingent outside the framework of the Israelite troops, he invests his own
sons with sacerdotal duties within the circle of the court, outside the
framework of the hereditary priesthood that controlled the public cult.” 2.
That may well be the case, but it is difficult to know much more about it.
Perhaps this royal priesthood, of sorts, consisted simply of singing the works
of their father in prayer services. It is obvious that the Psalms of David, and
others, found a place of Liturgical use in the temple led by men who were not Levitical
priests. They did not approach any altar of sacrifice or incense.
In
terms of Christian interpretation, most notably in the Epistle to the Hebrews about
which I am undertaking this endeavor, the combination of two royal lines, a
priestly lineage and a kingly dynasty, was reserved for the great High Priest
who is himself the reality of which all things and persons in the temple were types
and shadows. The time had not come in the eighth century B.C. because the types
and shadows of the Law were yet serving as “our schoolmaster to bring us to
Christ.” (Galatians 3:24)
1. וּבְנֵי דָוִד, כֹּהֲנִים הָיוּ
2. The
Hebrew Bible, A Translation with Commentary, Alter, Robert, Norton Books,
New York and London, 2019
3. Meshiach
( מְשִׁיחָ
anointed ) from the word Meshach ( מָשַׁחְ
anoint).
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