Elisheba

Elisheba (Hebrew אֱלִישֶׁ֧בַע Eliysheva, "My God has sworn", from el God and sheva seven) (m. ca. 2478 AM/1527 BC) was the wife of Aaron and the mother of Aaron's four sons.

Life and family

The Bible gives the name of Elisheba's father (Amminadab), brother (Nahshon), husband (Aaron), and sons (Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar) in a single verse. (Exodus 6:23 ) The Bible does not specifically state when she was married or even when she was born.

2478 AM (1527 BC) is the latest possible year of her marriage. All four of her sons were consecrated into the Aaronic priesthood during the first year of the wanderings of Israel, in 2514 AM (ca. 1491-90 BC). The youngest of them must, therefore, have been at least 30 years old by then, and the eldest of four must have been 33 years old or older.

She and her husband Aaron were actually two generations apart, on account of the rapid engendering of her ancestors Pharez and Hezron before the first seventy souls of Jacob entered Egypt.

Genealogy

Elisheba represents a branch in the direct line of descent to Jesus Christ, through her father Amminadab of Judah. Furthermore, through her marriage to Aaron, she is a direct ancestress of John the Baptist.

Significance of the name

The name Elisheba speaks of God and of oaths, and therefore speaks of faith. The root sheva is the Hebrew word for seven, and seven has always been symbolic of God's faithfulness.

"Elisheba" and "Elizabeth" are actually the same name. "Elizabeth" is a Greek form, but it does not use a root that means seven. Instead it uses a word very close to the Hebrew word for cutting, which in turn is the root of the Hebrew word for a covenant, which is literally a sworn contract.

Elisheba in fiction

Elisheba appears in one motion picture project depicting the Exodus of Israel. In the Cecil B. DeMille production The Ten Commandments, she appears by Aaron's side on the night of the first Passover.

See also

• Israel