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Heb_7:8. Second point of superiority. The Levitical priests are mortal men; but of Melchisedec it is testified that he lives.
By καὶ ὧδε μέν , “and here,” reference is made to the Levitical priests, by ἐκεῖ δέ , “but there,” to Melchisedec, because the Levitical priesthood still continues to exist to the time of our author, thus having something about it near and present; the historic appearing of Melchisedec, on the other hand, falls in the period of hoary antiquity.
δεκάτας ] The plural, on account of the plurality of tithes levied by the Levitical priests.
ἀποθνήσκοντες ] as the principal notion placed before ἄνθρωποι .
ἀποθνήσκοντες ἄνθρωποι ] men who die (irrevocably or successively), comp. Heb_7:23.
ἐκεῖ δὲ μαρτυρούμενος ὅτι ζῇ ] but there, one who has testimony that he lives, sc. δεκάτην ἔλαβεν . That by reason of the coherence with that which precedes only Melchisedec can be understood, and not (with Justinian, Jac. Cappellus, Heinsius, and Pyle) Christ, scarcely stands in need of mention. ζῇ , as opposition to ἀποθνήσκοντες , can be interpreted only absolutely, of the life which is not interrupted by death. That the author, in connection with μαρτυρούμενος , had before his mind a testimony contained in the Holy Scriptures of the Old Covenant, admits of no doubt. Whether, however, he derived the testimony of Melchisedec’s continued life from the silence of Scripture as to Melchisedec’s death, or found in the declaration, Psa_110:4, a direct proof therefor, or, finally, combined the two facts together, and deduced his conclusion from both in common, is a question hardly to be decided. The first supposition is entertained by Calvin, Estius, Drusius, Piscator, Grotius, Owen, Wolf, Bengel, Stein, Bisping, Delitzsch, Maier, Moll, and others; the second, by Theodoret, Zeger, Whitby, Heinrichs, Bleek, Bloomfield, Alford, Conybeare, Kurtz, M‘Caul, Woerner, and others; the third, by Böhme, Riehm, Lehrbegr. des Hebräerbr. pp. 201, 454, and others.