Elizabeth, mother of John the Baptist

Elizabeth was the mother of John the Baptist, the wife of Zechariah and a relative of Mary, mother of Jesus, according to the Gospel of Luke. She was past normal child-bearing age when she conceived and gave birth to John. She is revered as a saint by the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Lutheran churches, in addition to being a highly respected figure in Islam.

Biblical narrative

According to the Gospel of Luke chapter 1, Elizabeth was "of the daughters of Aaron". She and her husband Zechariah were "righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless", but Elizabeth was barren and therefore they were childless. While he was in the temple of the Lord (), Zechariah was visited by the angel Gabriel:

The date on which this occurred, according to theologian Adam C. English, is September 24, based on computations from the Jewish calendar in accordance with Leviticus 23 regarding the Day of Atonement.

Zechariah doubted how the angel could know this since both he and his wife were old. The angel identified himself as Gabriel and told Zechariah that he would be "dumb, and not able to speak" until the words were fulfilled, because he did not believe. When the days of his ministry were complete, he returned to his house ().

According to the account, the angel Gabriel was then sent to Nazareth in Galilee to her relative Mary, a virgin, betrothed to a man called Joseph, and informed her that she would conceive by the Holy Spirit and bring forth a son to be called Jesus. Mary was also informed that her "relative Elizabeth" had begun her sixth month of pregnancy, and Mary travelled to "a town in the hill country of Judah", to visit Elizabeth ().

thumb|right|250px|15th century depiction of the [[Nativity of St. John the Baptist, with Elizabeth on the left]]

Matthew Henry comments, "Mary knew that Elizabeth was with child, but it does not appear that Elizabeth had been told anything of her relative Mary's being designed for the mother of the Messiah; and therefore what knowledge she appears to have had of it must have come by a revelation, which would be a great encouragement to Mary." After Mary heard Elizabeth's blessing, she spoke the words now known as the Magnificat ().

That is the last mention of Elizabeth, who is not mentioned in any other chapter in the Bible. The chapter continues with the prophecy of Zechariah (known as the Benedictus) and ends with the note that John "grew, and became strong in spirit, and was in the deserts" until his ministry to Israel began; so it is unknown how long Elizabeth and her husband lived after that ().

Since the Medieval era, Elizabeth's greeting, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb," has formed the second part of the Hail Mary prayer.

A traditional "tomb of Elizabeth" is shown in the Franciscan Monastery of Saint John in the Wilderness near Jerusalem.

thumb|right|[[Mariotto Albertinelli's imagining of Elizabeth (right), here pictured with Mary]]

Apocrypha

Elizabeth is mentioned in several books of the Apocrypha, most prominently in the Protevangelion of James, in which the birth of her son, the subsequent murder of her husband, as well as her and John's miraculous escape during the Massacre of the Innocents are chronicled.

Sainthood

Elizabeth is revered as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church on 5 November, and in the Orthodox, Lutheran and Anglican traditions on 5 September, on the same day with her husband Zacharias/Zechariah. She is commemorated as a matriarch in the Calendar of Saints (5 September) of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod and Zacharias is commemorated as a prophet.

She is also commemorated on 30 March in Eastern Orthodox Church (Visitation).

Islam

Elizabeth (), the wife of Zechariah, the mother of John the Baptist, is an honored woman in Islam. Although Zechariah himself is frequently mentioned by name in the Qur'an, Elizabeth, while not mentioned by name, is referenced. She is revered by Muslims as a wise, pious and believing person who, like her relative Mary, was exalted by God to a high station. This was not only out of the desire to have a son but also because he wanted someone to carry on the services of the Temple of prayer and to continue the preaching of the Lord's message to the children of Israel before his death.

God cured Elizabeth's barrenness and granted Zechariah a son, John, who became a prophet. God thus granted the wishes of the couple because of their faith, trust and love for God. In the Qur'an, God speaks of Zechariah, his wife, and John, and describes the three as being humble servants of the Lord:

In Sunni Islamic reports of al-Tabari and al-Masudi, Elizabeth is said to have been a daughter of Imran, and thus, a sister of Mary. Therefore, their children Jesus and John are believed to have been cousins. In other accounts, Elizabeth is said to be a daughter of Fakudh, and a sister of Imran's wife Hannah.

In Shia hadith she is named Hananah, and is identified as a sister of Mary's mother Hannah. Abu Basir recorded that Imam Ja'far al-Sadiq, the great grandson of the Islamic Prophet Muhammad, had stated: "Anne, the wife of Imran, and Hananah, the wife of Zechariah, were sisters. He goes on to say that Mary was born from Hannah and John was born from Hananah. Mary gave birth to Jesus and he was the son of the daughter of John's aunt. John was the son of the aunt of Mary, and the aunt of one's mother is like one's aunt."

Mandaeism

In Mandaeism, Enišbai () is the Mandaic name for Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist. Enišbai is mentioned in chapters 18, 21, and 32 of the Mandaean Book of John.

alt=The Virgin Mary, wearing a teal blue dress and a rose-colored scarf in her hair, and St. Elizabeth, wearing a lime green dress and a white veil, embrace on a city street. Both have thin gold halos. |thumb|[[Pontormo|Jacopo da Pontormo, Visitation (1528–1529)]]

In Art

alt=The Virgin Mary places her hand on St. Elizabeth's shoulder. St. Elizabeth raises her hand to her breast. Made of gilded walnut, with an inset crystal womb.|thumb|Master Heinrich of Constance, The Visitation (1310–20)|left

alt=St. Elizabeth kneels before the Virgin Mary, who wears an ultramarine cloak, a pearl and ruby brooch, and a light veil. The Virgin Mary's half-sisters, Mary, mother of James, and Mary Salome, stand on either side of an archway open to a view of a city on a hill. |center|thumb|272x272px|[[Domenico Ghirlandaio, Visitation (1491)]]

alt=The Virgin Mary, wearing a cerise dress, a pale violet scarf, and an ultramarine cloak, holds the Christ Child, who wears a crown of wildflowers and holds a cross made of reeds. St. Elizabeth, wearing a white veil, looks over the Virgin Mary's shoulder. St. John the Baptist hands the Christ Child freshly picked strawberries, on the vine. All have thin gold halos. Dawn breaks over the mountains in the distance. |thumb|[[Bronzino|Agnolo Bronzino, Virgin and Child with Saint Elizabeth and Saint John the Baptist (1540–1545)|left]]

alt=The Virgin Mary holds the Christ Child in her lap as St. John the Baptist reaches up to him and St. Elizabeth winds swaddling cloth. In the background, St. Joseph carries carpentry tools. |thumb|[[Elisabetta Sirani, The Holy Family with St. Elizabeth and St. John the Baptist (1650-1660)|center]]

Notes

References

External links

Stained glass depiction of Elizabeth and Zachary, Cathédrale Saint-Etienne de Bourges

gl:Isabel#Relixión