Elizabeth

I-liz´uh-buhth

According to Luke 1:5-80, the wife of Zechariah and mother of John the Baptist. Luke describes her as coming from a priestly family. Her long period of barrenness connects her with earlier women in Israel such as Sarah (Gen 17:15-21; Gen 18:9-15; Gen 21:1-7) and Hannah (1Sam 1:1-20), who gave birth to children who would be important for new eras in Israel’s history. After Elizabeth’s five-month period of seclusion, the news that she would have a child was given to her “relative” Mary at the annunciation. Mary then visited Elizabeth and was honored by Elizabeth’s prophecy that she would be the mother of the Lord.