Definition · Webster 1828 · Scriptures · Corruption · Roots · Usage · Related
📖 Biblical Definition
Elisabeth is the elder cousin of Mary whose miraculous late-life pregnancy with John the Baptist confirmed the angel Gabriel's word to Mary: "And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren" (Luke 1:36). Mary went "with haste" into the hill country to visit her, and when Mary's greeting reached Elisabeth, "the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost." She then spoke the first words of the Magnificat dialogue: "Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?" (Luke 1:42-43). Note: ELISABETH calls Mary "the mother of my Lord" — three months before Christ's birth, before any human teaching would have established the doctrine, the Holy Spirit puts on Elisabeth's lips the confession of the incarnation. The unborn John leaps for joy; the Spirit-filled Elisabeth confesses; the still-young Mary sings the Magnificat in response (Luke 1:46-55). This is one of the great Spirit-led conversations in Scripture — three months in the hill country during which two pregnant women lived together in covenantal joy. Elisabeth's barrenness joins the line of barren-then-fruitful women in Scripture: Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel, Manoah's wife (Samson's mother), Hannah. Each barren womb whose closure God opens preaches the gospel of grace — fruitfulness is not what we deserve but what God gives, and the line of Messianic forerunners runs through wombs that God Himself unlocked.
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
Barren wife of the priest Zacharias, cousin of Mary, mother of John the Baptist; first Spirit-filled confessor of the Incarnation: "the mother of my Lord."
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ELISABETH, noun. The wife of the priest Zacharias, cousin of Mary the mother of Jesus, mother of John the Baptist. Luke 1:5-66.
Her name means "God is my oath" (Hebrew Elisheba — the same name as Aaron's wife in Exod 6:23). Barren until late in life, she became the mother of the forerunner of Messiah. Her Spirit-filled greeting to Mary (Luke 1:42-43) is the first NT confession of the Incarnation.
📖 Key Scripture
Luke 1:41-43 — "And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost: And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?"
Luke 1:36 — "And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren."
Luke 1:13 — "But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John."
Luke 1:57-60 — "Now Elisabeth's full time came that she should be delivered; and she brought forth a son. And her neighbours and her cousins heard how the Lord had shewed great mercy upon her; and they rejoiced with her. And it came to pass, that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; and they called him after the name of his father, Zacharias. And his mother answered and said, Not so; but he shall be called John."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
Elisabeth is corrupted when her role as the FIRST Spirit-filled confessor of the Incarnation is overlooked ("mother of my Lord" comes from her, not Mary), or when her barren-to-fruitful arc is severed from the canonical line of barren matriarchs whose wombs God opened.
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Mary-only spotlight. Roman Catholic Mariology often gives Mary all the spotlight in Luke 1, but the canonical text actually positions Elisabeth as the FIRST Spirit-filled human confessor of the Incarnation. Mary sings the Magnificat in RESPONSE to Elisabeth's Spirit-filled confession. The honor God gives to Elisabeth is enormous: she names the mystery ("mother of my Lord") months before any other human knew. Crediting Mary alone underplays what the Spirit did through Elisabeth.
Barren-line severance. Elisabeth joins Sarah (Gen 11:30; 21:1-2), Rebekah (Gen 25:21), Rachel (Gen 30:22-24), Manoah's wife (Judg 13), Hannah (1 Sam 1). Each barren-then-fruitful matriarch is part of a canonical pattern: God unlocks wombs to bring forth the line that leads to Messiah and ultimately to John, the forerunner. To read Elisabeth in isolation from this line is to miss the gospel-pattern: God's people are not produced by natural fertility but by God's gracious opening of what was closed. The same is true of the new birth — closed-then-opened by God's hand.
🔗 Greek & Hebrew Roots
Greek Elisabet (G1665), Hebrew Elisheba (H472) — "God is my oath"; barren wife of Zacharias, mother of John the Baptist, first NT confessor of the Incarnation.
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Greek Elisabet (G1665) — Elisabeth; transliteration of Hebrew Elisheba
Hebrew Elisheba (H472) — "God is my oath"; same name as Aaron's wife (Exod 6:23)
Cousin of Mary (Luke 1:36) — the precise relationship is unstated, but Elisabeth is older and from the priestly line
First NT human to confess the Incarnation: "mother of my Lord" (Luke 1:43) — Spirit-given confession before any human teaching
Usage
"Elisabeth confessed Mary as "the mother of my Lord" three months before Christ's birth — the first Spirit-given confession of the Incarnation."
"Joining Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel, and Hannah, Elisabeth is one more barren-then-fruitful matriarch — the line that leads to Messiah runs through wombs God Himself opens."
"Mary went with haste to Elisabeth; the two Spirit-filled pregnant women spent three months in the hill country together."