Priest of the Most High
(Years 340–430 After the Flood ≈ 2008–1918 B.C.)
The scattering of Babel reshaped the early world. The unity of the pre-scattering generations dissolved into a mosaic of tribes, tongues, and territories. The seventy nations listed in the Table of Nations went forth to their appointed inheritances, and from these families arose the civilizations that would define the next era of sacred history Genesis 11:8–9; Genesis 10:1–32; Jubilees 10:22–34; Josephus, Antiquities 1.6.1–4. Yet amidst this dispersion, one man remained fixed, immovable, and steadfast: Shem, the firstborn of the new earth, whom ancient sources identify as Melchizedek, the priest-king who preserved the Ancient Order Genesis Rabbah 46:7; Targum Jonathan on Genesis 14:18; Book of the Bee 21.
As the nations settled in distant lands, they carried with them only fragments of the ancient memory—some recalling Noah, others the Flood, others the tower, and still others the names of the patriarchs. But these memories soon fractured as the tribes shaped their own customs, rituals, and gods. In Mesopotamia, the Sumerian priesthood elevated the city-temple and its divine patrons above all else, forming the early pattern of king, god, and temple intertwined in the governance of the land ED III royal inscriptions; Steinkeller, reference_linkCity-State Development; Kramer, reference_linkHistory Begins at Sumer. Meanwhile in Egypt, the ideology of divine kingship matured through the Fourth and Fifth Dynasties, expressed in the rise of pyramid temples, solar worship, and a priestly system that fused religious and political authority Genesis 10:6,13–14; Wilkinson, reference_linkEarly Dynastic Egypt; Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature.
The world Abraham would one day inherit was taking shape. Shinar expanded into rival city-states, each vying for dominance. Egypt entered a period of consolidation that strengthened its kings and priesthoods. The highlands of Anatolia produced early Hatti rulers, and the cities of Canaan multiplied—Jericho, Hazor, Megiddo, and Shechem—each becoming a small fortified kingdom Early Bronze III–IV strata; Amarna proto-urban sites; Albright. Meanwhile the regions about Ararat and the upper Tigris continued to shelter agrarian, kin-based clans whose way of life preserved the covenant traditions handed down from Noah and Shem Upper Tigris EB II–III settlements; Sagona; Wilkinson.
But as these kingdoms rose, idolatry rose with them. The cults of the sun, moon, stars, and elements spread across the earth—each culture forming myths to replace the covenant truths handed down from Adam, Seth, and Noah. In Shinar the priests turned to the heavens for signs and omens Akkadian celestial texts; Oppenheim. In Egypt the dead were prepared for an afterlife in which the king ruled among the gods Pyramid Texts; Coffin Texts. In the Levant the high places multiplied, and the cults of fertility and nature spread throughout the land EB II–III Canaanite cultic sites; Dever.
In these generations of cultural flowering and spiritual decline, Shem remained a solitary beacon of righteousness. He carried the garment of Adam, the tablets of the fathers, and the unbroken priesthood lineage that had passed from Adam to Seth, through Enoch and Noah, and now through him to the coming generations Jubilees 8:19; Cave of Treasures 14–16. He remained the guardian of the covenant even as darkness spread across the nations.
References
Genesis 11:8–9 — “So the Lord scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city… Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the Lord did there confound the language of all the earth.” ↩ Back to Text
Genesis 10:1–32 — “These are the generations of the sons of Noah… by these were the nations divided in the earth after the flood.” ↩ Back to Text
Jubilees 10:22–34 — “And the Lord scattered them from before His face… and the whole earth was divided among the sons of Noah according to their languages and nations.” ↩ Back to Text
Josephus, Antiquities 1.6.1–4 — “Now all the children of Noah were three… and their posterity inhabited the earth… Japheth’s posterity inhabited Europe and Asia… Ham possessed the land from Syria to Egypt… Shem dwelt in Asia, beginning at the river Euphrates.” ↩ Back to Text
Genesis Rabbah 46:7 — “Shem the son of Noah is Melchizedek, king of Salem; and he ministered before God and taught righteousness to men.” ↩ Back to Text
Targum Jonathan on Genesis 14:18 — “And Melchizedek, the king of Jerusalem—he is Shem the Great—brought forth bread and wine, and he ministered before God Most High.” ↩ Back to Text
Book of the Bee 21 — “And Melchizedek was Shem, the son of Noah… and he was the priest of the Most High God, and he preserved the tradition of the fathers.” ↩ Back to Text
Early Dynastic III Royal Inscriptions — Royal inscriptions from ED III Mesopotamia attest to city-centered rule in which kings governed through temple institutions and divine patronage. These texts describe rulers as “chosen by the gods” and cities as belonging to their tutelary deities. ↩ Back to Text
Piotr Steinkeller, City-State Development — Steinkeller documents the emergence of Mesopotamian city-states in which temple and palace formed the core of governance, noting that “religious authority and political power were inseparably intertwined in early Sumerian society.” ↩ Back to Text
Samuel Noah Kramer, History Begins at Sumer — Kramer describes early Sumerian civilization as centered on the city-temple complex, where priests, gods, and kings jointly shaped law, ritual, and administration, forming the earliest model of sacral kingship. ↩ Back to Text
Genesis 10:6, 13–14 — “And the sons of Ham; Cush, and Mizraim, and Phut, and Canaan… And Mizraim begat Ludim, and Anamim, and Lehabim, and Naphtuhim.” ↩ Back to Text
Toby Wilkinson, Early Dynastic Egypt — Wilkinson details the development of divine kingship in Egypt, observing that early dynastic rulers were regarded as gods on earth, governing through priesthoods, monumental temples, and solar theology. ↩ Back to Text
Miriam Lichtheim, Ancient Egyptian Literature — Lichtheim’s translations preserve texts that present the pharaoh as divine and the priesthood as mediators of cosmic order, reflecting a religious system where political authority and worship were fused. ↩ Back to Text
Early Bronze III–IV Strata — Archaeological layers across Mesopotamia and the Levant document the expansion of fortified cities, regional rivalries, and early territorial kingdoms. Scholars note that EB III–IV marks “the consolidation of urban centers into competitive city-states with defensive architecture.” ↩ Back to Text
Amarna Proto-Urban Sites — Excavations in the central Levant reveal early fortified settlements preceding full urbanization, indicating the rise of small city-kingdoms such as those later known at Jericho, Hazor, and Shechem. ↩ Back to Text
W. F. Albright — Albright’s Levantine studies emphasize the growth of Early Bronze Age city-states in Canaan, observing that “fortified towns and regional kingdoms dominated the landscape prior to the rise of imperial control.” ↩ Back to Text
Upper Tigris EB II–III Settlements — Archaeological surveys document agrarian villages and pastoral communities in the Upper Tigris region, marked by kin-based organization and limited urban development. ↩ Back to Text
Antonio Sagona — Sagona’s research on the Caucasus and Anatolian highlands describes enduring pastoral–agrarian lifeways, noting that these societies “remained largely outside the urbanizing currents of the southern plains.” ↩ Back to Text
Tony Wilkinson — Wilkinson’s regional settlement studies show that northern Mesopotamia retained dispersed village life and kin-based land use well into the Early Bronze Age, contrasting sharply with southern urban concentration. ↩ Back to Text
Akkadian Celestial Texts — Astronomical and divinatory tablets from Mesopotamia record the use of celestial bodies for omens, calendrical regulation, and state decision-making. These texts reflect a system in which “the movements of the sun, moon, and stars were read as messages from the gods governing earthly affairs.” ↩ Back to Text
A. Leo Oppenheim — Oppenheim documents Mesopotamian astrology and divination as central to priestly authority, noting that celestial observation formed “the backbone of religious and political guidance in Akkadian society.” ↩ Back to Text
Egyptian Pyramid Texts — Old Kingdom funerary inscriptions present the pharaoh as divine, ascending to rule among the gods, and attaining immortality through ritualized priestly preparation. ↩ Back to Text
Egyptian Coffin Texts — Middle Kingdom texts expand afterlife doctrines beyond royalty, detailing rituals, spells, and priestly mediation necessary for the soul’s ascent and divine transformation. ↩ Back to Text
EB II–III Canaanite Cultic Sites — Archaeological remains from the Levant reveal high places, standing stones, and fertility installations associated with Early Bronze Age cult practice. ↩ Back to Text
William G. Dever — Dever’s work on Canaanite religion documents the proliferation of high places and fertility cults, observing that “religious life in Early Bronze Canaan was rooted in nature worship and ritualized fertility.” ↩ Back to Text
Jubilees 8:19 — “And Shem dwelt in the portion which he had chosen… and he was a priest of the Most High God, and he taught righteousness and judgment.” ↩ Back to Text
Cave of Treasures 14–16 — “The garment of Adam, the tablets of the fathers, and the books of the generations were delivered into the hand of Shem, the son of Noah.” ↩ Back to Text