Hebrews 7:4

“Now consider how great this man was, etc..] Melchizedek, of whom so many great and wonderful things are said in the preceding verses: and as follows, unto whom the patriarch Abraham gave the tenth of the spoils; of Abraham's giving tithes to him, (see Gill on “<580702>Hebrews 7:2”) and Melchizedek's greatness is aggravated, not only from this act of Abraham's, but from Abraham's being a “patriarch”, who did it; he was the patriarch of patriarchs, as the sons of Jacob are called, (<440708>Acts 7:8,9) he is the patriarch of the whole Jewish nation, and of many nations, and of all believers, the friend of God, and heir of the world; how great then must Melchizedek be, to whom he paid tithes?…”

“consider--not merely see, but weigh with attentive contemplation, the fact. even--"to whom (as his superior) Abraham even paid tithe (went so far as to pay tithe) of (consisting of, literally, 'from') the best of the spoils (literally, 'the top of the heap"; whether of corn, the first-fruits of which, taken from the top, used to be consecrated to God; or of spoils, from the top of which the general used to take some portion for consecration to God, or for his own use)." He paid "tithes of ALL," and those tithes were taken out of the topmost and best portion of the whole spoils. the patriarch--in the Greek emphatically standing at the end of the whole sentence: And this payer of tithe being…”

“Now consider how great this man was - The object of the apostle was to exalt the rank and dignity of Melchizedek. The Jews had a profound veneration for Abraham, and if it could be shown that Melchizedek was superior to Abraham, then it would be easy to demonstrate the superiority of Christ as a priest to all who descended from Abraham. Accordingly he argues, that he to whom even the patriarch Abraham showed so much respect, must have had an exalted rank. Abraham, according to the views of the East, the illustrious ancestor of the Jewish nation, was regarded as superior to any of his posterity, and of course was to be considered as of higher rank and dignity than the Levitical priests who…”

“The greatness of Melchisedec is described in all the preceding and following particulars. But the most manifest proof of it was, that Abraham gave him tithes as to a priest of God and a superior; though he was himself a patriarch, greater than a king, and a progenitor of many kings. Hebrews 7:5”

“7:4 The point of this section (7:1-10) is to have the readers consider . . . how great this Melchizedek was by comparing him to the descendants of Levi. Melchizedek was so great that Abraham gave him a tenth of the spoils of battle (Gen 14:20).”

“the patriarch: Act 2:29, Act 7:8, Act 7:9 Abraham: Gen 12:2, Gen 17:5, Gen 17:6; Rom 4:11-13, Rom 4:17, Rom 4:18; Gal 3:28, Gal 3:29; Jam 2:23 gave: Gen 14:20 Hebrews 7:5”