Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Hebrews 7:13

"For he of whom these things are said belongeth to another tribe, from which no man hath given attendance at the altar." — Hebrews 7:13 (ASV)

The change in the law is seen in that Jesus did not belong to the tribe recognized by the law as the priestly tribe. His tribe was “different,” which may mean no more than that it was another than the priestly tribe or that the tribe was of a different nature. It was a nonpriestly tribe. In fact, it was a royal tribe. From this tribe no one “has ever served at the altar,” and Jesus has a permanent share in that tribe. But what about David and Solomon, who were of the tribe of Judah and who offered sacrifices (2 Samuel 6:12–13, 17–18; 24:25; 1 Kings 3:4; 8:62ff.)? Two things should be said about this. (1) It is possible that these kings did not do the actual ceremony. (It is unlikely that Solomon personally offered 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep.) David and Solomon may have “offered” in the sense that they provided the sacrificial victims, leaving priests to perform the liturgical function. (2) Even if these kings did sometimes perform the actual offering, this was occasional and not their regular function. The author’s concern is the regular ministrations of a priest at the altar, which belonged to Aaron and his sons during the OT period.