The Wine of a New Covenant

The meeting between Abraham (then still Abram) and Melchizedek arises from a political and military incident which becomes a sacred experience. Through Abraham’s heroic defeat of his enemy, God Most High has given peace to the city of Salem, a name suggestive of shalom. The meal of bread and wine is a sign of hospitality, salvation, and blessing from the God of Melchizedek and the God of Abraham. The figure of Melchizedek resurfaces in postbiblical Jewish literature. First-century (BCE) Jewish scholar, Philo of Alexandria, depicts him as the cosmic logos, or the divine word. In the Dead Sea Scrolls, the sectarians of Qumran portray him as an eschatological figure associated with the coming Messiah. Early Christians, however, understood his eternal priesthood as a sign of Christ’s eternal priesthood which was ‘according to the order of Melchizedek’ (Hebrews 5:10). Peter Paul Rubens underscores the extraordinary nature of the encounter. The luminous golds and flowing robes of the protagonists add to the drama. Abraham and Melchizedek seem to recognize that their meeting anticipates something greater to come through bread and wine. Rubens’s painting was a design for one in a series of tapestries called The Triumph of the Eucharist which would be displayed in the convent of the Poor Clares in Madrid. Interpreting the story typologically, the artist depicts Melchizedek as a Christ-like figure giving gifts of bread and wine to Abraham. Though the story of Genesis does not describe their eating and drinking together, it might be assumed that Abraham and Melchizedek shared a meal in celebration of the victory. For Rubens, however, the priest-king is the giver of gifts and reflects Christ who will give the Eucharist to the Church. The other figures in the painting seem unaware of this significance except for the horse that raises its hoof and bows its head, almost genuflecting before the elements. In the medieval Christian Church, the meeting of Melchizedek and Abraham became a type that was incorporated into liturgical utensils. The paten and the chalice were not created as mere objects of art, but their significance was associated with their ritual value. Only the finest materials of gold and silver were used because of the belief that the bread and wine become the body and blood of Christ through the priestly consecration during the Eucharist. The paten and chalice of St Trudbert demonstrate the importance of the aesthetic and symbolic impact liturgical utensils had in the medieval church. The high cost of the materials, the exquisite metalwork and use of precious stones, and the incorporation of characters from the biblical text show the depth of esteem Christians had for the Eucharist. The inclusion of the priest-king of Salem on the paten is a visual sign of how Christians understood the Old Testament story as prefiguring the high priesthood of Christ. Aside from any christological interpretations of the story, it is remarkable that Abraham and Melchizedek share the first meal of bread and wine in the Bible. This is no insignificant thing since wine was central to social and religious life in the ancient Near East (McGovern 2003). Its importance cannot be overestimated, and we can see this in the fine craftsmanship of ancient items used for pouring and filtering wine. The biblical authors understood wine as a gift from God that originally came through Noah (Genesis 9:20) to relieve humanity’s toil. It was also a sign of blessing that pointed to God’s salvation and the presence of his kingdom on earth. The gifts of bread and wine brought by Melchizedek are symbols of celebration, joy, and peace. This is articulated through his prayer, ‘blessed be God Most High, who has delivered your enemies into your hand’ (Genesis 14:20). This stands in stark contrast to the king of Sodom who brings nothing to Abraham, his saviour. The presence of wine at Abraham’s meal expresses solidarity, covenant faithfulness, and the blessing that God has brought to the land. The wine they shared to celebrate victory and peace would become a sign for Christians of the victory and peace brought through the blood of Christ’s sacrifice and its presence in the eucharistic chalice. References McGovern, Patrick E. 2003. Ancient Wine: The Search for the Origins of Viniculture (Princeton: Princeton University Press) McLachlan, Elizabeth Parker. 2005. ‘Liturgical Vessels and Implements’, in The Liturgy of the Medieval Church, ed. by Thomas J. Heffernan and E. Ann Matter (Michigan: Western Michigan University), pp. 333–89 Scarlata, Mark W. 2025. Wine, Soil, and Salvation in the Hebrew Bible and New Testament (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press) Viar, Lucas. 2020. ‘Eucharistic Utensils, April 6, 2020’, www.liturgicalartsjournal.com [accessed 25 January 2025]