Elisheba

Biblical Record

Elisheba is named in only one verse of Scripture, Exodus 6:23. The text records that Aaron took as his wife Elisheba, the daughter of Amminadab and sister of Nahshon, and that she bore him Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. The verse is part of the genealogy of the families of Moses and Aaron (Exodus 6:14–27). No words or deeds of hers are recorded elsewhere.

The same genealogy also names Jochebed, the mother of Moses and Aaron (Exodus 6:20), and the daughter of Putiel, the wife of Eleazar (Exodus 6:25). Although biblical genealogies are generally recorded along male lines, this one preserves the names of mothers in the priestly family.

Significance Within Scripture

Elisheba's father, Amminadab, and her brother, Nahshon, belonged to the tribe of Judah, one of the twelve tribes of Israel. Nahshon was the leader of the tribe of Judah during the wilderness period (Numbers 1:7; 2:3). He appears in the genealogy of Ruth 4:20 as an ancestor of David, and in the New Testament he is included in the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1:4 and Luke 3:32. Elisheba's marriage thus joined the priestly family of the tribe of Levi with a leading family of the tribe of Judah.

The stories of Elisheba's four sons are bound up with the subsequent history of the priesthood. Nadab and Abihu died after they "offered strange fire before the LORD, which he commanded them not" (Leviticus 10:1–2). Eleazar succeeded Aaron as high priest (Numbers 20:28). The descendants of Eleazar and Ithamar went on to form the priestly families, and Eleazar's son Phinehas was Elisheba's grandson.

The New Testament does not mention Elisheba directly. In the Greek Septuagint, however, her name is rendered "Elisabeth." Luke 1:5 introduces Elisabeth, the mother of John the Baptist, as being "of the daughters of Aaron." For this reason, some commentators see a connection between the two women in both name and priestly lineage (see Zacharias and Elisabeth).

Interpretation and Discussion

The name derives from the Hebrew Elisheva, commonly interpreted as "My God is an oath." The English name Elizabeth is generally understood to derive from it.

Rabbinic literature preserves a tradition that Elisheba experienced both great joy and great sorrow on a single day: her brother-in-law Moses was the leader of the people, her husband was high priest, and her brother was a tribal leader, yet two of her sons died on that same day. This tradition is not found in the biblical text and represents later interpretation. Likewise, accounts of how Elisheba reacted to her sons' deaths concern matters on which Scripture is silent.

In the Korean Church

The New Korean Revised Version renders her name as 엘리세바 (Elliseba). Elisheba does not appear to be a frequent subject of sermons in her own right in the Korean church. She is mentioned briefly, mainly in sermons and Bible studies dealing with Aaron's household, the deaths of Nadab and Abihu, or women in the Bible.