The first priest mentioned in the Bible was Melchizedek, the king of Salem; and all that the Old Testament records of him is found in four verses, three in Genesis and one in Psalms. He met "Abram the Hebrew" in the valley of Shaveh after the latter's return from his rescue of his nephew Lot from the land of Dan, where he had been held captive by the heathen kings. This priest blessed Abram. Centuries later, however, this original priest was referred to in the epistle to the Hebrews as being "without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life; but made like unto the Son of God." Hence, it is quite evident that this first "priest of the most high God" was unique, unparalleled in early Jewish history.
Melchizedek presented an ideal which was pure and perfect, and which foretold the coming of an order of priesthood having a spiritual value far above the conceptions of personal sense, with its studied ceremony, aimed to impress physical vision and hearing. This ideal was the Christ, of whom David said, "Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchizedek." Hence the wondrous 'fact that the first record of priesthood in the Bible presented the perfect ideal, the Christ, which, later, Jesus demonstrated.
Four centuries after Abram's time, the priesthood became an important feature in the Mosaic era of Jewish history; and the priestly office was also conspicuous among the heathen peoples with whom the Hebrew nation came in contact. This office had a relatively high and timely utility among the children of Israel after the exodus, being suited to their aspirations and needs, although it was but an approximation to the high ideal of the first priest, Melchizedek, who appeared among men. But the high ideal revealed to Moses of an "everlasting priesthood" was not preserved in the succeeding generations. Frequently, the priests of the Jewish religion corrupted the office through marriage with "strange wives" and the adoption of heathen customs, until Ezekiel declared that "the law shall perish from the priest, and counsel from the ancients."
