Elizabeth Mother of John the Baptist

Elizabeth was the mother of John the Baptist, a distant cousin of Mary the mother of Jesus, and a “daughter of Aaron.” She was married to a Hebrew priest, Zacharias (aka Zechariah). In June, 8 BCE, Gabriel, an angelic messenger, appeared before Elizabeth to announce that she would bear a son who was to be called John (Yohanan). Though childless for many years, on March 25, 7 BCE, Elizabeth gave birth to John. She and Zacharias taught John at their home in the City of Judah until John was fourteen. After Zacharias died in 12 CE, she and John moved to Hebron where she lived until the day of her death, August 17, 22 CE.

In late June, 8 BCE, Gabriel appeared before Elizabeth to announce she would soon give birth to a son, and he should be given the name John. Gabriel also said John would proclaim the coming of a great teacher, a spirit-liberator, and that her cousin Mary would be his mother.

Gabriel’s announcement scared Elizabeth and she didn’t tell anyone for five months. Finally, she told her husband Zacharias but he was skeptical until there was no doubt she was pregnant. Then Zacharias had a dream that convinced him Elizabeth would be the mother of an important person, one who would prepare the way for the Messiah.

When Gabriel made his announcement to Mary, he said Elizabeth would also have a “son of destiny.” Before their babies were born, Mary went to visit Elizabeth and stayed three weeks. They talked about Gabriel’s announcements and were convinced that their sons would become great spiritual leaders.

John was born on March 25, 7 BCE in the City of Judah. According to tradition, “on the eighth day” he was circumcised and christened “John.” Elizabeth sent her nephew to Mary to announce John’s birth.

Elizabeth and Zacharias heard that Herod the Great, king of Judea, was alarmed by the rumors that a Jewish king had been born. Feeling a threat to his hold on power, Herod wanted to destroy the babe, but he did not know which one. When, after a year’s search, his agents could not locate the child, Herod ordered that all male infants in Bethlehem be killed. Elizabeth and Zacharias knew about this and avoided Bethlehem. Jesus was taken out of harm’s way to Egypt where Mary, Joseph, and their infant son stayed with relatives. In October of 6 BCE, sixteen baby boys living in Bethlehem, were slaughtered. Neither John nor Jesus were endangered thanks to their parents’ contacts and wise movements.

Elizabeth and Zacharias taught their son that he would become a great leader and teacher. When he was six years of age, his parents took him to Nazareth where he met young Jesus for the first time. After that, John was educated at home and the synagogue school at the City of Judah. At age fourteen, Elizabeth and Zacharias took John to Engedi to join the Nazarite brotherhood.

After Zacharias died in 12 CE, Elizabeth and John went to visit Mary and Jesus. John thought he was ready to begin his ministry but when he saw how Jesus cared for his family he decided not to begin until Elizabeth died. Before she died, she and John moved to Hebron.

Elizabeth died when John was twenty-eight. Her friends, knowing how Nazarites weren’t allowed contact with the dead, arranged for her burial.

The third book of the Bible’s New Testament, Luke chapter 1, has the only references to Elizabeth. It states that Gabriel appeared to announce that Elizabeth would soon have a son, a child of promise who should be called John, and that he was destined to prepare the way for a great teacher. Luke says that Gabriel did not appear before Elizabeth but Zacharias, her husband.

According to Luke 1:5, Elizabeth was a “daughter of Aaron”, a priestess’ title in the Jewish faith. In Luke 1:42, Elizabeth, at a meeting with her cousin Mary the mother of Jesus, is quoted uttering an often-repeated phrase in the Catholic tradition: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!”

The name Elizabeth appears eleven times in Luke’s Gospel, and nowhere else except once in the Old Testament in which the wife of Aaron also has that name. Presumably, having the title “daughter of Aaron”, Elizabeth was named after Aaron’s wife. The name Elizabeth takes origin in the Bible and means “My God is abundance” and “God is my oath.”

Though not mentioned by name, Elizabeth, the wife of “Zacharias” is referred to as a devout and pious woman, a relative of Mary, mother of Jesus. Her story in the Qur’an is similar to the Bible version. In the Qur’an, Zachariah prays for a son, God grants his wish and Yahya (John) is born, grows to manhood and becomes a prophet.

In Chapter 21, verse 89-90 of the Qur’an, God answers Zachariah’s prayer:

“And remember, when Zachariah cried out to his Lord, ‘My Lord! Do not leave me childless...’ So We answered his prayer, granted him John, and made his wife fertile…”

Elizabeth is revered as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church and remembered on November 5th. And in the Orthodox and Anglican traditions on September 5th, on the same day with her husband Zacharias/Zachariah. She is commemorated as a matriarch in the Calendar of Saints (also September 5th) of the Lutheran Church–Missouri (USA) Synod. She is also commemorated on March 30th in the Eastern Orthodox Church.