What's the importance of Melchizedek from a Hebrew Bible-only point of view?

Question

In Genesis 14, there is a man named Melchizedek, but not very much is said about him:

¹⁷ After Abram returned from defeating Kedorlaomer and the kings allied with him, the king of Sodom came out to meet him in the Valley of Shaveh (that is, the King’s Valley). ¹⁸ Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine. He was priest of God Most High, ¹⁹ and he blessed Abram, saying, "Blessed be Abram by God Most High, Creator of heaven and earth. ²⁰And praise be to God Most High, who delivered your enemies into your hand." Then Abram gave him a tenth of everything.

(Genesis 14:17-20, NIV)

He is also mentioned in one of the Psalms:

The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind: "You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek."

(Psalm 110:4, NIV)

What is the importance of this character? This question has already been answered based on the New Testament book of Hebrews, but I'm looking for an answer based just on the Genesis text and the surrounding narrative or other contemporary sources.

Answer 1

This is begging the question; who (from a Hebrew Bible–only perspective, remember) says that Melchizedek is a particularly important figure? He seems to be a historical curiosity, someone not of Abraham’s descent who taught the worship of the One God.¹ There are, of course, significant doctrinal implications to the fact that the One God had worshipers outside Abraham’s family. But those are questions for ✡.SE or ✝.SE, not this site.

With regard to Psalm 110:4, we can open a discussion about what it means to be a כהן, a priest. Cf. particularly Exodus 19:6, “Be ye to me a nation of priests”. The short answer is that the Biblical word implies an exemplar rather than an intermediary.

Side note: The words translated as “in the order of Melchizedek” might be better rendered “by the words of Melchizedek”; i.e., Melchizedek verbally appointed the poem’s subject as a “priest”.

_{¹ This assumes (as apparently did Abraham himself) that the “God Most High”, El Elyon, whom Melchizedek worshiped is identical with Abrahams’s God. Wikipedia (“Elyon”) mentions scholarly speculation that this was a distinct Canaanite god; but this claim seems rather shaky to me.}