Hebrews 7:3 BSB — MannaFest

Hebrews 7:3

Without father or mother or genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, like the Son of God, he remains a priest for all time.

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days nor end of life, but made like unto the Son of God), abideth a priest continually.

KJV

Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God; abideth a priest continually.

⋯

Commentary

3 voices

Ambrose of Milan

Exposition of the Christian Faith 3. [88-89] (397)

Let no one claim Divinity resides in an order established by human beings when he encounters such an order. For the church does not consider even Melchizedek, by whose office Abraham offered sacrifice, an angel (as some Jewish interpreters do). It rather considers him a holy man and priest of God who, prefiguring our Lord, is described as "without father or mother, without history of his descent, without beginning and without end."

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

Matthew Henry

1662–1714

Commentary on the Whole Bible (1710)

This must not be understood according to the letter; but the scripture has chosen to set him forth as an extraordinary person, without giving us his genealogy, that he might be a fitter type of Christ, who as man was without father, as God without mother; whose priesthood is without descent, did not descend to him from another, nor from him to another, but is personal and perpetual.

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

Albert Barnes

1798–1870

Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)

Without father - The phrase “without father” - ἀπάτωρ apatōr - means literally one who has no father; one who has lost his father; one who is an orphan. Then it denotes one who is born after the death of his father; then one whose father is unknown - “spurious. Passow.” The word occurs often in these senses in the classic writers, for numerous examples of which the reader may consult Wetstein in loc.

Voices on this verse

loading…

Original language & word study

21 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
ἀπάτωρ,	apatōr	Without father,	G540 →
ἀμήτωρ,	amētōr	without mother,	G282 →
ἀγενεαλόγητος,	agenealogētos	without genealogy,	G35 →
μήτε	mēte	neither	G3383 →
ἀρχὴν	archēn	beginning	G746 →
ἡμερῶν,	hēmerōn	of days	G2250 →
μήτε	mēte	nor	G3383 →
ζωῆς	zōēs	of life	G2222 →
τέλος	telos	end	G5056 →
ἔχων,	echōn	having,	G2192 →
ἀφωμοιωμένος	aphōmoiōmenos	made like	G871 →
δὲ	de	however	G1161 →
τῷ	tō	as the	G3588 →
υἱῷ	huiō	Son	G5207 →
τοῦ	tou	<the>	G3588 →
θεοῦ	theou	of God	G2316 →
μένει	menei	he remains	G3306 →
ἱερεὺς	hi'ereus	a priest	G2409 →
εἰς	eis	unto	G1519 →
τὸ	to	<the>	G3588 →
διηνεκές.¶	diēnekes	all time.	G1336 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
Hebrews 7:17
For it is testified: “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.”
leads to
- Psalms 110:4
  The LORD has sworn and will not change His mind: “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.”
- Hebrews 5:6
  And in another passage God says: “You are a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek.”
- Hebrews 7:21
  but Jesus became a priest with an oath by the One who said to Him: “The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind: ‘You are a priest forever.’”
Through
Matthew 4:3
The tempter came to Him and said, “If You are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.”
leads to
- Genesis 3:1–5
  Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field that the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any…
- 1 Thessalonians 3:5
  For this reason, when I could bear it no longer, I sent to find out about your faith, for fear that the tempter had somehow tempted you and caused our labor to be in…
- Numbers 11:4–6
  Meanwhile, the rabble among them had a strong craving for other food, and again the Israelites wept and said, “Who will feed us meat?
- Revelation 2:10
  Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Look, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison to test you, and you will suffer tribulation for ten days. Be faithful…
Through
Hebrews 7:6
But Melchizedek, who did not trace his descent from Levi, collected a tenth from Abraham and blessed him who had the promises.
leads to
- Romans 4:13
  For the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world was not given through the law, but through the righteousness that comes by faith.

Featured studies on this passage

A full-scale Tabernacle model (Timna Park): where Aaron's house first ministered · Exo 28

On Hebrews 7:3

The High-Priestly Line

One family carried Israel's altar for a thousand years — until a priest arrived who needed no genealogy and would never die.

Open the study →

On Hebrews 7:3

Jesus: Titles & Roles

No single title carries him. Scripture names Jesus by a constellation of titles — Christ, Son of Man, Lamb of God, Logos, High Priest, King of Kings — and each one is a door. This hub gathers every title page on the site and anchors the rest to the verses that confer them.

Open the study →

On Hebrews 7:3

Melchizedek: the King-Priest of Salem

Open the study →

Walks through Hebrews 7

The General Epistles

Open the study →

The Meeting of Abraham and Melchizedek (Rubens)

Walks through Hebrews 7

Hebrews, the Study Guide

Open the study →

Walks through Hebrews 7

The Messianic Psalms

Six psalms previewing the life of Christ — from begotten Son (Ps 2) to crucified silence (Ps 22) to the Priest-King at God's right hand (Ps 110). Tri-fold taxonomy: Fulfilled in First Coming · Awaiting Second · Progressively Fulfilled.

Open the study →

About Hebrews

Christ Presented to the People — Gustave Doré (engraving, public domain)

Hebrews: the study guide →Read chapter 7 →The featured study →

Continue: Hebrews 7 →

01Commentary

The record, by era

Voices on this verse

02Original language & word study

03The walk

Where the connections lead

04Related verses

05Featured studies on this passage

06About Hebrews

The record, by era

Where the connections lead

Commentary

Original language & word study

The walk

Related verses

Featured studies on this passage

About Hebrews