Hebrews 7:5 Commentary and Bible Study

The thought in mind is still the surprise expressed in verse 4 that Abraham should pay tithes to another and what that said about the status of Melchisedec. This verse increases our surprise at this event by drawing our attention to other factors that made it still more remarkable.Who pays tithes to who? Well, tithes may be paid from one person to another when the one who receives them is appointed a priest by God. The Jews could accept that under the law, tithes were paid to the descendants of Levi (Numbers 18:8, 19, 21). As the priestly tribe they received the offerings made by the other eleven tribes to the Lord, and as a result, they received no inheritance among the other tribes (Joshua 13:14). The tithe was regarded as holy to the Lord (Leviticus 27:30). Much was said about this by the law, and it was understood to be a very special privilege which marked out the tribe of Levi as distinct from all the other tribes. Who paid these tithes to the Levites? Other Israelites, who like the Levites were descended from Abraham. So the law established this and tithes were paid to the priests and the priestly assistants, but at least in this case the payment of tithes remained within the descendants of Abraham. This did not therefore say anything about another who was different to Abraham who was given a special privilege. We can just about understand that tithes should be paid by the descendants of Abraham to other descendants of Abraham, for that does not involve honouring someone else outside the family of Abraham, but the tithe paid to Melchisedec goes beyond this.