Elizabeth

Life events

1. Born

   Elizabeth was a descendant of the priestly line — Luke 1:5 identifies her as 'of the daughters of Aaron' — and married Zechariah, a priest serving in the Temple. The couple lived in the hill country of Judah and were described as keeping all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord, yet remained childless into old age.

2. Other

   While Zechariah was serving his priestly rotation in the Temple, the angel Gabriel appeared and announced that Elizabeth would conceive and bear a son to be named John. Zechariah doubted — both he and Elizabeth were old — and was struck mute as a sign until the words were fulfilled.

3. Other

   Elizabeth conceived and withdrew into seclusion for five months, saying 'The Lord has done this for me; in these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people' (Luke 1:24–25). Theologian Adam C. English places the date of Gabriel's announcement to Zechariah on September 24, computed from the Jewish calendar in relation to the Day of Atonement.

4. Pilgrimage

   Mary traveled from Nazareth to 'a town in the hill country of Judah' to visit Elizabeth during her sixth month of pregnancy. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, she was filled with the Holy Spirit and proclaimed 'Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb' — words that became the second part of the Hail Mary prayer.

5. Other

   Elizabeth gave birth to a son. On the eighth day, when neighbors and relatives sought to name the child after his father Zechariah, Elizabeth insisted the name must be John. When her mute husband confirmed the name in writing, 'His name is John,' his speech was immediately restored.

6. Other

   The Protevangelion of James, a second-century apocryphal text, extends the narrative: after the birth of John, Elizabeth and the infant fled into the wilderness to escape Herod's Massacre of the Innocents, while Zechariah was killed at the altar for refusing to reveal his son's location. These events are not found in the canonical Gospels.

7. Died

   The canonical Gospel of Luke provides no account of Elizabeth's death. The chapter ends with a note that John 'grew, and became strong in spirit, and was in the deserts' until his public ministry — leaving it entirely unknown how long Elizabeth lived after her son's birth.

8. Translated

   A traditional 'tomb of Elizabeth' is shown at the Franciscan Monastery of Saint John in the Wilderness, near Jerusalem (Ein Kerem), the town traditionally identified as Elizabeth and Zechariah's home.

Relationships

Documented claims

• Luke 1:5 identifies Elizabeth as 'of the daughters of Aaron', making her a member of the priestly Aaronic line — a distinction that placed her in the hereditary class of Israelite priests descended from Moses's brother. (plausible)
• Since the medieval period, Elizabeth's exclamation at the Visitation — 'Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb' — has formed the second part of the Hail Mary prayer, one of the most widely recited prayers in Catholic and Eastern Christian devotion. (likely)
• Elizabeth is honored in Islam as a wise and devout woman exalted by God, though she is not named in the Qur'an. In Sunni hadith (al-Tabari, al-Masudi) she is described as a daughter of Imran and thus a sister of Mary; in Shia hadith she is called Hananah and identified as a sister of Mary's mother Hannah. (likely)
• In Mandaeism, Elizabeth is known as Enišbai (Classical Mandaic: ʿnišbai) and appears in chapters 18, 21, and 32 of the Mandaean Book of John — a significant sacred text of the Mandaean religion, which regards John the Baptist as its central prophetic figure. (likely)
• Elizabeth and Zechariah are commemorated together on 5 September in Eastern Orthodox, Lutheran, and Anglican traditions, while the Roman Catholic Church observed her feast on 5 November (later moved to November 17 in the 1969 calendar reform). She is also commemorated on 30 March in the Eastern Orthodox Church in connection with the Visitation. (likely)