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Hebrews 7:11 – Another Priest
“Verses 11 and 15 clearly state that Christ is another, different priest of the order originated by Melchizedek. There is no suggestion here that Melchizedek and Christ are the same entity. If they were, the writer of Hebrews surely would have stressed that point. But the use of heteros plainly indicates that Christ, although he came in the likeness of Melchizedek, was not Melchizedek.
“Let’s analyze the word heteros, found in verses 11 and 15. TDNT says: “In the NT heteros is used in much the same way as allos . . . It denotes the new member in a series that either continues (Lk. 14:18ff.) or concludes it (Acts 15:35). It may denote others either of the same kind (Acts 17:34; Lk. 4:34) or of another kind (Lk. 23:32) . . . ” (p. 265).
Vine’s says that allos and heteros “have a different meaning, which despite a tendency to be lost, is to be observed in numerous passages. Allos expresses a numerical difference and denotes ‘another of the same sort’; heteros expresses a qualitative difference and denotes ‘another of a different sort'” (NT, p. 29).
“EDNT says of this word that “approximately half of the occurrences have the connotation of something additional: a further or additional instances of a type. . . . Passages that speak of another as a replacement or successor also have an adversative association (Acts 1:20; 7:18; Rom 7:4; Heb 7:11, 13, 15)” (vol. 2, p. 66). [Bryan T. Huie , Updated: September 13, 1997 via the Internet, “Was the Logos Melchizedek?”]
My question is, does the word another/heteros modify in contrast or comparison to Melchizedek or Aaron’s priesthood? If Vine is correct, then wouldn’t allos be used to compare Jesus to Melchizedek instead of heteros because the later “expresses a qualitative difference and denotes ‘another of a different sort'”? I think the word “another” is in contrast to the Levitical kind of priesthood.
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