Elisabeth

Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament

ELISABETH. —The NT notice of Elisabeth is confined to the Third Gospel, and its brief record concerning her may well be due to St. Luke’s acquaintance with Mary the mother of our Lord. It is interesting to know that she was a kinswoman (συγγενίς,  Luke 1:36) of Mary, though it is unfortunately impossible to verify the exact relationship that existed between them. Elisabeth is described, with her husband Zacharias (wh. see), as a faithful adherent of the OT type of religion—strict and regular in observance of the Law ( Luke 1:6). She enjoyed the double distinction, according to Jewish thought, of being both a priest’s daughter and a priest’s wife ( Luke 1:5). The joy of such a twofold honour was, however, diminished by the fact that she was barren ( Luke 1:7), to an Oriental woman little less than a calamity. But a single event in the Gospel narrative at once dispelled her sorrow and entitled her to a place of honour not among Jewish women alone, but in the eyes of the whole world. In her old age ( Luke 1:38) she became the mother of John the Baptist.

Between the promise and the birth of this child she was visited by Mary ( Luke 1:39), who remained with her for a period of three months ( Luke 1:56), and to whom she was made a proof of the Almighty’s power ( Luke 1:36-38). On Mary’s appearance she received a special inspiration of the Holy Spirit, which even enabled her to recognize in her kinswoman the mother of her ‘Lord’ ( Luke 1:41 ff.), and in Mary’s Child a fulfilment of the promise of Jehovah Himself ( Luke 1:45). Herein she unconsciously illustrated the meaning of her own name, which in its Hebrew form signifies ‘God is an oath.’

On the theory (upheld by Burkitt, Harnack, et al. ) that the Magnificat ought to be attributed to Elisabeth and not to Mary, see artt. Birth of Christ, p. 203b note, and Magnificat.

H. Bisseker.

Fausset's Bible Dictionary

Hebrew: Elisheba

1. (Aaron's wife) "swearing by God" ( Exodus 6:23).

2. Zacharias' wife; John the Baptist's mother. Of the daughters of Aaron; related ("cousin") to the Virgin Mary ( Luke 1:5;  Luke 1:36). The first to bless Mary as "the mother of her Lord" ( Luke 1:40-45). Thus, our Lord, though not of the priestly tribe, was related to it; He fulfilled it, in His distinct priesthood of the Melchizedek order. Like her husband, Elisabeth was "righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless."

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

ELISABETH . The wife of Zacharias and mother of John the Baptist (  Luke 1:5 ff.). The Hebrew form of the name is Elisheba (  Exodus 6:23 ). Elisabeth was of a priestly family, ‘the kinswoman’ of Mary (  Luke 1:36 ), whom she greeted as the mother of the Messiah (  Luke 1:43 ).

J. G. Tasker.

People's Dictionary of the Bible

Elisabeth ( E-Lĭz'A-Bĕth, God Her Oath, that is, Worshipper Of God. The wife of Zacharias, and mother of John the Baptist. She was of a priestly family, and also the cousin of the virgin Mary. She is described as being, with her husband, a person of piety, "walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless."  Luke 1:5-66.

Morrish Bible Dictionary

A righteous woman, of the tribe of Aaron, wife of Zacharias, and mother of John the Baptist. On being visited by Mary, she was filled with the Holy Spirit, and hailed Mary as 'the mother of my Lord.' She said, "Blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord."  Luke 1:5-57 . She was one of the God-fearing remnant, of which a glimpse is obtained in the early chapters of Luke's gospel.

Smith's Bible Dictionary

Elis'abeth. (The Oath Of God). The wife of Zacharias, and mother of John the Baptist. She was herself of the priestly family, and a relation,  Luke 1:36, of the mother of our Lord.

Holman Bible Dictionary

 Luke 1:5 Luke 1:6Annunciation

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

A devout woman, "of the daughters of Aaron," the wife of Zacharias, and mother of John the Baptist,  Luke 1:5-25,36,39-80 .

Easton's Bible Dictionary

 Luke 1:5 Luke 1:5,13

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

( Ε᾿Λισάβετ ), wife of Zacharias or Zachariah, and mother of John the Baptist ( Luke 1:5). She was a descendant of Aaron, or of the race of the priests; and of her and her husband this exalted character is given by the evangelist: "They were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless" ( Luke 1:7;  Luke 1:13). They had remained childless till the decline of life, when an angel foretold to her husband Zachariah the birth of John, and Zachariah returning home, Elisabeth conceived. During five months she concealed the favor God had granted her; but the angel Gabriel discovered to the Virgin Mary this miraculous conception, as an assurance of the birth of the Messiah by herself. (See Annunciation). Mary visited Elisabeth, and when she saluted her, Elisabeth felt the quickening of her unborn babe. When her child was circumcised she named him John, according to previous instructions from her husband ( Luke 1:39-63). B.C. 7. (See Zacharias).

The name in this precise shape does not occur in the Old Testament, where the names of few females are given. But it is a Hebrew name, the same in fact as ELISHEBA (See Elisheba) (q.v.). It is perhaps etymologically connected with Elissa or Elisa, the Phoenician name of queen Dido (Virgil, Aen. 4:335), whence the modern Eliza, Elizabeth.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

ē̇ - liz´a - beth ( Ἐλισάβετ , Elisábet , Westcott and Hort Ἐλεισάβετ , Eleisábet , from Heb 'ĕlı̄shebha‛ (Elisheba), "God is (my) oath," i.e. a worshipper of God): Wife of Zacharias the priest and mother of John the Baptist ( Luke 1:5 ). Elisabeth herself was of priestly lineage and a "kinswoman" (the King James Version Cousin , which see) of the Virgin Mary ( Luke 1:36 ), of whose visit to Elisabeth a remarkable account is given in Lk 1:39-56. See Zacharias .

Kitto's Popular Cyclopedia of Biblial Literature

Elis´abeth, wife of Zacharias, and mother of John the Baptist . The name in this precise shape does not occur in the Old Testament, where the names of few females are given. But it is a Hebrew name, the same in fact as Elisheba, which see.