Definition · Webster 1828 · Scriptures · Corruption · Roots · Usage · In the Text · Related
📖 Biblical Definition
Eliezer is a name shared by several significant biblical figures, all bearing the same Hebrew meaning: "my God is help" (from El + 'ezer, the same 'ezer used to describe the woman as Adam's "help meet" in Gen 2:18, and used of God Himself as "our help" in Ps 33:20). The two most prominent Eliezers in Scripture: (1) ELIEZER OF DAMASCUS, Abraham's chief servant (Gen 15:2-3), whom Abraham assumed would inherit his household before God promised Isaac. Eliezer is most beautifully shown in Genesis 24: dispatched by aged Abraham to find a wife for Isaac from Abraham's own family in Mesopotamia, Eliezer prayed at the well, met Rebekah, recognized God's providence, and brought her home — one of the great prayer-and-providence narratives in the OT. (2) ELIEZER, second son of Moses, born during Moses's exile in Midian: "And the name of the other was Eliezer; for the God of my father, said he, was mine help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh" (Exod 18:4). Moses named his son for God's deliverance from the death penalty he had earned by killing the Egyptian (Exod 2:15). The name is therefore one of the great GOD-IS-HELP confessions of Scripture — given in moments when only God's help mattered. Modern Jewish and Christian families revive the name for its theological weight: every Eliezer named today carries the same confession that the prophet, servant, and patriarch all carried.
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
Hebrew "my God is help"; Abraham's trusted servant (Gen 15:2; 24) and Moses's second son (Exod 18:4).
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ELIEZER, proper noun. Hebrew Eli'ezer (H461) — "my God is help" (from El + 'ezer, help).
Borne by several biblical figures including Eliezer of Damascus (Abraham's chief servant, Gen 15:2; the unnamed servant of Gen 24 who found Rebekah for Isaac) and Eliezer son of Moses (Exod 18:4).
📖 Key Scripture
Genesis 15:2 — "And Abram said, Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?"
Exodus 18:4 — "And the name of the other was Eliezer; for the God of my father, said he, was mine help, and delivered me from the sword of Pharaoh."
Genesis 24:12 — "And he said, O LORD God of my master Abraham, I pray thee, send me good speed this day, and shew kindness unto my master Abraham."
Psalm 33:20 — "Our soul waiteth for the LORD: he is our help and our shield."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
Eliezer is corrupted when modern Christian readings dismiss the Genesis 24 servant as a minor character rather than receiving him as the canonical model of prayer-saturated providential decision-making in service of his master's household.
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Servant-minor-character dismissal. Genesis 24 is one of the longest single-chapter narratives in Genesis (67 verses), and the protagonist is not Abraham (who only commissions and receives) or Isaac (who only appears at the end) — it is the SERVANT, traditionally identified as Eliezer of Damascus. The chapter is a sustained study of prayer, providence, vocational faithfulness, and the long obedience of a servant seeking the good of his master's house. Modern commentaries that skip past the servant as "some servant of Abraham" lose the canonical lesson: faithful subordinate service, prayed into and through, is high-honor work in the kingdom of God.
Moses-Eliezer overlooked. The second Eliezer — Moses's second son — is mentioned only briefly (Exod 18:4) and barely appears in the rest of the Pentateuch. Some skip him entirely. But the NAMING is theologically loaded: Moses named his second son for the moment God had saved his life from Pharaoh's execution order. The first son was named Gershom ("stranger there") for Moses's exile; the second son was named Eliezer ("my God is help") for the deliverance from Pharaoh's sword that made the exile-life possible at all. The two sons' names together preserved Moses's testimony: stranger in a strange land, but rescued from the sword by the God of his father.
🔗 Greek & Hebrew Roots
Hebrew Eli'ezer (H461) — "my God is help"; from El (God) + 'ezer (help); name of Abraham's servant and Moses's son.
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Hebrew Eli'ezer (H461) — "my God is help"
Compound: El (God) + 'ezer (help) — the same 'ezer word used in Gen 2:18 (woman as help-meet) and Ps 33:20 (God as our help)
Eliezer of Damascus — Abraham's chief servant (Gen 15:2); traditionally the servant of Gen 24 who found Rebekah
Eliezer son of Moses (Exod 18:4) — named for God's deliverance from Pharaoh's sword
Usage
"My God is help — the confession every Eliezer in Scripture carried into his name."
"Abraham's servant prayed at the well in Mesopotamia and recognized God's providence in Rebekah's coming."
"Moses named his son for the God who had delivered him from Pharaoh's sword."
📖 In the Text
Chapters of the reading Bible where this entry is linked.