Difference between revisions of "Elizabeth (Biblical person)" - New World Encyclopedia

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'''Elizabeth''', also spelled '''Elisabeth''' or [[Elisheva]] ([[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] '''אֱלִישֶׁבַע''' / '''אֱלִישָׁבַע''' "My [[Elohim|God]] is an oath", [[Standard Hebrew]] '''{{IPA|Elišévaʿ}}''' / '''{{IPA|Elišávaʿ}}''', [[Tiberian Hebrew]] '''{{IPA|ʾĔlîšéḇaʿ}}''' / '''{{IPA|ʾĔlîšāḇaʿ}}''')(Arabic: '''إشاع''') was the mother of [[John the Baptist]] and the wife of [[Zacharias]], according to the [[New Testament]].  
 
'''Elizabeth''', also spelled '''Elisabeth''' or [[Elisheva]] ([[Hebrew language|Hebrew]] '''אֱלִישֶׁבַע''' / '''אֱלִישָׁבַע''' "My [[Elohim|God]] is an oath", [[Standard Hebrew]] '''{{IPA|Elišévaʿ}}''' / '''{{IPA|Elišávaʿ}}''', [[Tiberian Hebrew]] '''{{IPA|ʾĔlîšéḇaʿ}}''' / '''{{IPA|ʾĔlîšāḇaʿ}}''')(Arabic: '''إشاع''') was the mother of [[John the Baptist]] and the wife of [[Zacharias]], according to the [[New Testament]].  

Revision as of 00:29, 22 April 2007

StElisabeth.jpg

Elizabeth, also spelled Elisabeth or Elisheva (Hebrew אֱלִישֶׁבַע / אֱלִישָׁבַע "My God is an oath", Standard Hebrew Elišévaʿ / Elišávaʿ, Tiberian Hebrew ʾĔlîšéḇaʿ / ʾĔlîšāḇaʿ)(Arabic: إشاع) was the mother of John the Baptist and the wife of Zacharias, according to the New Testament.

Relation to Mary

According to Luke 1:36 Elizabeth is related to Mary. The word used in the Greek original is suggenes which according to Strong's Greek dictionary means: a relative (by blood); by extension, a fellow countryman [1]. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia their relation is given by St. Hippolytus, according to whom they are cousins; the mother of Elizabeth, Sobe and the mother of Mary, Saint Anne are sisters [2]. The mother of Mary is also known from an other source, the infancy Gospel of James.

Some translations of this verse states their relations as relative, kinswoman or 'of your family', others such as the English Standard 2nd Revision, states that they are cousins.

In the Bible

According to the Gospel of Luke, Elizabeth was a descendant of Aaron the priest (Luke 1:5). She and her husband Zechariah were "righteous before God, living blamelessly" (1:6), but childless. Zechariah was visited by the Angel Gabriel, who told him his wife would have a son who "will be great in the sight of the Lord" (1:15).

The pregnant Elizabeth was visited by her relative (1:36) , who was pregnant with Jesus:

When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the child leapt in her womb.
And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit and exclaimed with a loud cry:
"Blessed are you amongst women and blessed is the fruit of your womb." (1:41-2)

Elizabeth is not mentioned in the New Testament outside of the Gospel of Luke. Some modern sceptical scholars argue that she is a fictional character and that Luke invented the notion that Jesus and John the Baptist were related. However, their critics have pointed out such a claim is impossible to prove and that it would be ludicrous to dismiss a character like Elizabeth solely on the basis that she is mentioned in only one of the four Biblical gospels. There are several female characters who are mentioned in only one of the gospels - including Mary, the wife of Cleopas, Saint Joanna and the female apostle, Susanna. Some theologians have suggested that Elizabeth is included in Luke's nativity account because his version of events deliberately focuses more upon the personal experience of the Virgin Mary during her pregnancy than Matthew's account (the two other gospels, Mark and John, do not include an account of Jesus's birth and instead start their narratives at the beginning of his ministry.) Elizabeth is also mentioned in several books of the Apocrypha, most prominently in the Protevangelion of James, in which the birth of her son and the subsequent murder of her husband are chronicled.

Sainthood

Elizabeth is revered as a saint in the Catholic, Orthodox and Anglican traditions.


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