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Hebrews 7:4
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Hebrews 7:4
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
4 [a]See how great he is to whom the patriarch “Abraham [indeed] gave a tenth” of his spoils.(A)
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- 7:4–10 The tithe that Abraham gave to Melchizedek (Hb 7:4), a practice later followed by the levitical priesthood (Hb 7:5), was a gift (Hb 7:6) acknowledging a certain superiority in Melchizedek, the foreign priest (Hb 7:7). This is further indicated by the fact that the institution of the levitical priesthood was sustained by hereditary succession in the tribe of Levi, whereas the absence of any mention of Melchizedek’s death in Genesis implies that his personal priesthood is permanent (Hb 7:8). The levitical priesthood itself, through Abraham, its ancestor, paid tithes to Melchizedek, thus acknowledging the superiority of his priesthood over its own (Hb 7:9–10).
New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)
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