Elisheba

Elisheba (/əˈlɪʃɪbə/; (original) Hebrew: אֱלִישֶׁבַע‎, romanized: ’Ělīševa‘) was the wife of Aaron, the older brother of Moses and the first High Priest of Israel. She was mentioned once in Exodus 6:23 in the Torah and the Old Testament.^[1][2]

Elisheba
אֱלִישֶׁבַע
Aaron and Nadab take leave of Elisheba (pictured from left to right), camped before Mount Sinai, while Moses ascends.
Born	(possibly) Goshen, Lower Egypt, Ancient Egypt
Died	Unknown
Resting place	Tiberias, Israel
Other names	Elisheva (original form)
Known for	Being the wife of Aaron, and the matriarch of the first Kohanim of Israel; she is also remembered as one of the prominent women among women in the Bible.
Spouse	Aaron
Children	Nadab Abihu Eleazar Ithamar
Father	Amminadab
Relatives	Nahshon (brother) Amram (father-in-law) Jochebed (mother-in-law) Miriam (sister-in-law) Moses (brother-in-law) Zipporah (sister-in-law) Eliezer (nephew) Gershom (nephew)

Tomb of the Matriarchs in Tiberias, Israel. According to tradition, Elisheba rests here.^[3]

In the Torah

In the book of Exodus, she was said to be a daughter of Amminadab from the Tribe of Judah and a sister of Nahshon.^[4] The Hebrew name Elisheva is composed of two parts: "Eli", from Elohim (Hebrew: אֱלֹהִים‎), one of the Hebrew words for God, and "sheva", which roughly translates to "oath".^[5][6] Thus, the name Elisheva translated into English means "God is my oath"^[7] or "my God is an oath".^[8]

The Torah mentions that Elisheba and Aaron had four sons: Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.^[4] As per halakha, in order for a Jewish person to be legitimately recognized as one of the Kohanim (Hebrew: כֹּהֲנִים‎) and a member of the priestly lineage/bloodline, they must be a Levite of direct patrilineal descent from Eleazar and Ithamar, the two youngest sons of Aaron and Elisheba (i.e. be descendants of Aaron on both sides of the family).^[9][10][11]

In the Christian Bible

In the first chapter of the Gospel of Luke in the New Testament, a woman named Elisabet (Greek: Ἐλισάβετ) is said to have been a descendant of Aaron and the wife of Zechariah, who was also a Jewish priest.^[12] Elisabet was a relative of Jesus' mother, Mary,^[13] and was the mother of John the Baptist with Zechariah.^[14]

Derivations

In English

Elizabeth is the common English-language variant of Elisabet, which is derived from Elisheva.^[15][16]

In Spanish/Portuguese

Isabel is the Spanish and Portuguese version of the name Elisheva or Elizabeth in English.^[17]

In Italian

Elisabetta is the Italian version of Elizabeth,^[18] while Isabella is the Italian version of Elisheva.^[19][20]

In the Muslim world

Alishba is a modern name that is believed to have been derived from an Arabic-language translation of Elisheva.^[21] It is prevalent among Muslims in the Indian subcontinent.^[22]