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Consider how great this man was. Even Abraham, the patriarch, gave him a tenth from the best of the spoils. According to the law, those sons of Levi who received the priesthood have a command to collect a tenth from the people, that is, from their brother Israelites, even though they also came from Abraham’s body. But here the one who was not descended from them collected a tenth from Abraham and blessed the one who had the promises. And without any question, it is the lesser who is blessed by the greater.

In the one case, those who are mortal collect the tenth; in the other case, the one who collects has testimony in Scripture[a] that he lives. And, through Abraham, even Levi, who collects the tenth, has paid a tenth, so to speak, 10 because he was still in the body of his forefather when Melchizedek met Abraham.

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Footnotes

  1. Hebrews 7:8 The Greek term for has testimony appears six more times in this letter (Hebrews 7:17; 10:15; 11:2,4,5,39). Each time it clearly implies by usage and context that it is referring to testimony in Scripture.