Melchizedek: What Are the Facts?

I hope to wrap up and put the final nail in the coffin regarding Melchizedek practicing Canaanite worship. In desire of doing this in the most efficient way, I contacted Dr. Richard Hess of Denver Seminary. He shared with me some helpful information, and he confirmed a general conclusion I had:

There's no way to prove that Melchizedek practiced Canaanite religion.

His reasons at certain points were a bit different than I had expected. For example, I had read that there was some disputation about whether Salem in Genesis 14 was Jerusalem, but Dr. Hess seemed to lean toward them being different places.

Dr. Hess is an authority when it comes to the field of studying Semitic rituals and practices...he's written many books and lectures on this field regularly. If anyone will have a depth of knowledge, it would be him.

Keep in mind that I don't know Dr. Hess's theology at all. I highly doubt we're on the same theological continuum, seeing that he's a prof at Denver Seminary. Here is what he wrote:

OK Craig:

Briefly, Ugarit was not technically within the territory that both Egypt and the Bible designate as Canaan.  However, it was West Semitic in its dominant language and culture, and that is true of Canaan.  So Ugarit and Canaan share much of the same culture.  While Ugaritic myth texts could not be considered identical to what was found further south in Canaan, they are representative of what could have been a diverse collection of myths and religious beliefs about Baal, Asherah, and others. 

Salem is a town only mentioned in the Bible, mainly in Genesis 14.  It is not known outside of the Bible.   Many associate it with Jerusalem but no ancient name of Jerusalem matches Salem.  If Melchizedek was a priest in Jerusalem he could have practiced Canaanite religion but that is difficult to know.  The more we learn the more we are aware of a great diversity of religious practices under general rubrics like Canaan.  That he could have worshiped El Elyon as the one true deity is not impossible but not attested outside the Bible.  El can be both a common noun for deity and the name of the chief god of the pantheon.  It is not possible to say more from the evidence of Genesis 14.[the following Dr. Hess Is responding to a question I proposed re: Jerusalem's relative independence, seeking freedom from Canaan and allying with Egypt] Abdi-Heba was leader of Jerusalem c. 1350 B.C.  I would date the time of Abraham at least 300 or 400 years earlier.  Egypt controlled most of Canaan during Abdi-Heba’s time.  It formed part of their New Kingdom Empire.  It was called Canaan by the Egyptian pharaohs but under their general military control.

I hope this helps.

Best wishes,
Rick Hess

Dr. Hess graciously responded to a follow-up message for clarification. It is interesting to note that he confirmed my research which showed El Elyon doesn't appear outside of the Bible. The closest is a description of Baal, and Baal didn't assume as prominent role on Canaan's cult until after Abraham's time...you can fact-check me on this, that's fine:

El Elyon only appears in the Bible.  Elyon comes from a root meaning “high, exalted.” A form of this appears at Ugarit as an epithet of Baal (Aliyn Baal = Exalted Baal), but not as a clearly separate deity.  In Gen 14 the sense is “exalted El” or “exalted God.”  It isn’t possible to tell which by the name itself.  However, in the context it suggests that Melchizedek worshiped the true God under this name.  Some scholars believe that Genesis 14 implies a tradition of a god at Jerusalem, a manifestation of El, known as El Elyon.  This cannot be proven from either the biblical or extra-biblical evidence, however.

[I had asked Dr. Hess if there is evidence of Canaanite leaders acting as priests]

We don’t know a lot about the kings of Canaan.  It is certainly possible that they functioned in priestly capacities.  We don’t know for sure from the extra-biblical texts. 

You can learn a good deal more on the subject of early West Semitic religion by reading my Israelite Religions (Baker, 2007). 

Best wishes,
Rick Hess

I think it's pretty clear that Rob's claims are overstatements, to say the least. We see that there was a greater diversity of religious practice in Canaan...which agrees with what I was finding in scholarly articles and books. He's up to date on this stuff, certainly more-so than a guy who got his PhD from a Christianized diploma mill. Further, Salem may not be Jerusalem...which is to say, we don't even know if Melchizedek dwelt in Canaan! Finally, El Elyon is unique to the Bible.

Melchizedek is far from a "slam dunk" for Inclusivists. The extra-biblical evidence just ain't there. The Biblical evidence says clearly: El Elyon (who wasn't a Canaanite deity) is Yahweh.