For certainly Christ does not [intend to] help angels, but He [intends to] help the descendants of Abraham [i.e., the Jews].

For when God made a promise to Abraham, since He could not make a vow by anyone greater, He vowed by Himself,

And so, after waiting patiently, Abraham received what [God] had promised.

Since God wanted to show conclusively to those who would inherit the promise [i.e., Abraham and all of his spiritual descendants], how unchangeable His purpose was, He confirmed it with an oath.

For this Melchizedek was king of Salem [Note: This probably refers to Jerusalem], and a priest of the Most High God. He met Abraham returning [from battle] when he defeated the kings [See Gen. 14:1ff] and blessed him.

Abraham measured out one tenth of everything he had [taken in battle] and gave it to Melchizedek. (Now "Melchizedek" means, first of all, "King of Righteousness," and then [since he was] King of Salem, it also means "King of Peace").

Now consider how great this man was, to whom the patriarch Abraham gave a tenth of what he had taken [in battle].

For indeed, the descendants of Levi, who are appointed to the priesthood, are commanded by the law of Moses to collect a tenth [of the income] of the Israelites, who are their brothers, even though these brothers are [also] descendants of Abraham.

But Melchizedek, whose ancestry is not traced from the Levites, has collected a tenth [of the spoils] from Abraham, and blessed him who had received promises [from God].

And, so to speak, Levi, who collected a tenth [from the Israelites], paid a tenth through Abraham,

for when Melchizedek met him, he was still in Abraham's body [i.e., Levi had not yet been born as a descendant of Abraham].

By [having] faith, when Abraham was called [by God] to leave [his homeland] and go to a place he would later receive as an inheritance [i.e., Palestine], he obeyed God and went out, not knowing where he was going.

By [having] faith, Sarah herself received the ability to have children, even though she was [sterile, being] past the age of child-bearing, since she considered God faithful to His promise. [Note: Some translations consider "Abraham" to be the subject of this highly controversial verse. See Lightfoot, pages 222-225].

Therefore, from one man [Abraham], who was as good as dead [i.e., because of having a sterile wife], were born descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the [grains of] sand on the seashore.

By [having] faith, when Abraham was tested [by God], he offered Isaac [as a sacrifice]. [Even though] he had received the promises [of having many descendants], he was ready to offer his only conceived [and eventually born] son,