{A tenth} (dekat(886e)). It was common to offer a tenth of the
spoils to the gods. So Abraham recognized Melchizedek as a priest
of God. {Divided} (emerisen). First aorist active of meriz(935c),
from meros (portion), to separate into parts. From this point
till near the end of verse 3 (the Son of God) is a long
parenthesis with houtos of verse 1 as the subject of menei
(abideth) as the Revised Version punctuates it. Philo had made
popular the kind of exegesis used here. The author gives in Greek
the meaning of the Hebrew words Melchizedek (King of
righteousness, cf. 1:8 ) and Salem (peace).
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