In short
If you are a Christian, this concept might be so common that it has become meaningless, but for many Jews, the thought was basically blasphemy, that the messiah could be a priest and a king.
Why it is important
The concept is not only embedded in the Old Testament relating to the messiah, it even applies to all children of God, and stretches all the way from creation to Revelation (Rev 1:6, 20:6).
The problem
As we discussed on May 1, priests come from the tribe of Levi, and even more specifically are descended from Aaron (the brother of Moses), as commanded in Numbers 3:10 (for example).
All of the kings in Jerusalem, on the other hand, were in the line of David* and therefore of the tribe of Judah, as prophesied in Genesis 49:10.
So, it’s basically impossible for a person to be descended from both Judah and Levi.
And you’re thinking, um, people have two parents! What if mom was from Judah and dad was from Levi? Here’s a vocabulary word for you: patrilinear. It means, “tracing your ancestry through your father’s side.” The idea that a man was from either Judah or Levi (or wherever) would tend to be a patrilinear ancestry. Consider that priests were “Aaron and his sons” (Num 3:10), and Eli’s claim to the priesthood was connected to “the house of your father” (1Sa 2:30).
Jesus, the messiah, as priest and king
Zechariah 6:9-13 is (at least in hindsight) an obvious messianic prophecy of “the Branch.” In it, Joshua (aka Jeshua), the high priest in the book of Ezra, is CROWNED. If that wasn’t obvious enough, the prophecy is made: “It is he who shall build the temple of the LORD and shall bear royal honor, and shall sit and rule on his throne. And THERE SHALL BE A PRIEST ON HIS THRONE, and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.” How can this be?
Daniel says that the messiah (the son of man) has been “given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed” (Dan 7:14). Jesus descended from Judah (the line of kings), so it is straightforward for this to be fulfilled.
Hebrews provides the priestly fulfillment by making a connection to an obscure person named Melchizedek who was “king of Salem, priest of the Most High God” (Heb 7:1). The messiah was to be “a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek” (Ps 110:4), and Hebrews says that Jesus is that “high priest forever after the order of Melchizedek” (Heb 6:20). Since Melchizedek predates the tribe of Levi by a few generations, Jesus is able to be a priest and king.
Other examples
Christians are told, “But you are a chosen race, A ROYAL PRIESTHOOD, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1Pe 2:9).
But that’s actually a quote from the Old Testament: “’Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me A KINGDOM OF PRIESTS and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel” (Ex 19:5-6).
King David wore a linen ephod, like a priest would (2Sa 6:14); he consulted “the ephod” (presumably the Urim and Thummim), which the high priest would wear (1Sa 23:9, 30:7); and instituted singing in temple worship (Neh 12:24, 45); for some examples.
Moses is more of a stretch, but he is a Levite and is “among” God’s priests (Ps 99:6). As far as being king, he is described as a prince or ruler (Ex 2:14) and Stephen picked up on this in Acts 7:35: “this man God sent as both ruler and redeemer.” (On the other hand, Deut 33:4-5 [KJV] is probably NOT referring to Moses.)
And here’s the really obscure one – Adam. His royalty is clear: he was given “dominion” over all the animals (Gen 1:28). As a priest, that’s harder to see. He was told to “work and keep” (abad and shamar; H5647 and H8104) the garden (Gen 2:15), just as priests were told to keep and serve (shamar and abad) their office (Num 18:7) and Levites did also (Num 3:7)**. Also, the inner room of the tabernacle is guarded by cherubim (on a curtain), much as the entrance to the Garden of Eden is guarded by cherubim.
Footnotes
* I say “all” of the kings are from Judah. I have to clarify that. First, the very first king was not – King Saul (a Benjamite). And second, I am also excluding the kings of the rebellious faction that split off after Solomon’s death and composed the region later called Samaria. Neither of these nullifies the promise in Gen 49:10 that once a king from Judah took power (David), then all legitimately appointed kings after him would continue to be from Judah. Conveniently, all of that can be summarized as “kings in Jerusalem.” Well, till the exile, anyway. Then the kingdom was kind of on hold.
** Certainly not endorsing everything they say, but this was a useful overview: https://bibleproject.com/explore/video/priests-of-eden/
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