the Second Week after Easter
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Hebrenjve 7:5
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Concordances:
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- InternationalBible Verse Review
from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge
who: Hebrews 5:4, Exodus 28:1, Numbers 16:10, Numbers 16:11, Numbers 17:3-10, Numbers 18:7, Numbers 18:21-26
to take: Leviticus 27:30-33, Numbers 18:26-32, 2 Chronicles 31:4-6, Nehemiah 13:10
come: Hebrews 7:10, Genesis 35:11, Genesis 46:26, Exodus 1:5, 1 Kings 8:19
Reciprocal: Luke 24:50 - he lifted
Gill's Notes on the Bible
And verily they that are of the sons of Levi,.... Or Levites; who are of the tribe of Levi, whose descent is from him:
who receive the office of the priesthood; as some of them were priests, though not all; and the Levites therefore are sometimes called priests. R. Joshua ben Levi says, that in twenty four places the priests are called Levites; and this is one of them, Ezekiel 44:15 "and the priests and Levites", c. k
these have a commandment to take tithes of the people according to the law the ceremonial law, Numbers 18:20, these they took of all the people of Israel in the rest of the tribes, by the commandment of God, on account of their service in the tabernacle; and because they had no inheritance in the land; and to show that the Israelites held their land of God himself:
that is, of their brethren, though they come out of the loins of Abraham; who are their brethren and kinsmen according to the flesh, though of different tribes; and from these they receive, notwithstanding they are the sons of Abraham: but here a difficulty arises, how the Levites that were priests can be said to receive tithes from the people, when they received the tenth part of the tithes, or the tithe of tithes from the Levites, Numbers 18:26, but it should be observed, that it was not necessary that the Levites should give these tithes to the priests themselves; an Israelite might do it, and so give the Levites the less; on which account the priests may be said to receive from the people; besides, Ezra in his time ordered, that the first tithe should not be given to the Levites, but to the priests, because they would not go up with him to Jerusalem l.
k T. Bab. Yebamot, fol. 86. 2. & Becorot, fol. 4. 1. l Maimon. Hilchot Maaser, c. 1. sect. 4.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible
And verily they that are of the sons of Levi - The meaning of this verse is, that the Levitical priests had a right to receive tithes of their brethren, but still that they were inferior to Melchizedek. The apostle admits that their superiority to the rest of the people was shown by the fact that they had a right to require of them the tenth part of the productions of the land for their maintenance, and for the support of religion. But still he says, that their inferiority to Melchizedek, and consequently to Christ as a priest, was shown by the fact that the illustrious ancestor of all the Jewish people, including the priests as well as others, had confessed his inferiority to Melchizedek by paying him tithes.
Who receive the office of the priesthood - Not all the descendants of Levi were priests. The apostle, therefore, specifies particularly those who “received this office,” as being those whom he specially designed, and as those whose inferiority to Christ as a priest it was his object to show.
Have a commandment to take tithes - Have by the Law a commission, or a right to exact tithes of the people. Deuteronomy 14:22, Deuteronomy 14:27-29.
Clarke's Notes on the Bible
Verse Hebrews 7:5. They that are of the sons of Levi — The priests who are of the posterity of the Levites, and receive the priesthood in virtue of their descent from Aaron, have authority from the law of God to receive tithes from the people.
According to the law — That is, the Levites received a tenth from the people. The priests received a tenth of this tenth from the Levites, who are here called their brethren, because they were of the same tribe, and employed in the same sacred work. The apostle is proceeding to show that Melchisedec was greater even than Abraham, the head of the fathers, for to him Abraham gave tithes; and as the Levites were the posterity of Abraham, they are represented here as paying tithes to Melchisedec through him. Yet Melchisedec was not of this family, and therefore must be considered as having a more honourable priesthood than even Aaron himself; for he took the tenth from Abraham, not for his maintenance, for he was a king, but in virtue of his office as universal high priest of all that region.