Elisheba (Template:IPAc-en; (original) Template:Langx) was the wife of Aaron, the older brother of Moses and the first High Priest of Israel. She was mentioned once in Exodus 6:23 in the Torah and Christian Old Testament.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Template:Infobox person
In the TorahEdit
In the book of Exodus, she was said to be a daughter of Amminadab from the Tribe of Judah and a sister of Nahshon.<ref name=":0" /> The Hebrew name Elisheva is composed of two parts: "Eli", from Elohim (Hebrew: Template:Script/Hebrew), one of the Hebrew words for God, and "sheva", which roughly translates to "oath".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Thus, the name Elisheva translated into English means "God is my oath"<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> or "my God is an oath".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
The Torah mentions that Elisheba and Aaron had four sons: Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.<ref name=":0">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> As per halakha, in order for a Jewish person to be legitimately recognized as one of the Kohanim (Template:Langx) and a member of the priestly lineage/bloodline, they must be a Levite of direct patrilineal descent from Eleazar and Ithamar, the two youngest sons of Aaron and Elisheba (i.e. be descendants of Aaron on both sides of the family).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In the Christian BibleEdit
In the first chapter of the Gospel of Luke in the New Testament, a woman named Elisabet (Template:Langx) is said to have been a descendant of Aaron and the wife of Zechariah, who was also a Jewish priest.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Elisabet was a relative of Jesus' mother, Mary,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and was the mother of John the Baptist with Zechariah.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Derivations of the NameEdit
In EnglishEdit
Elizabeth is the common English-language variant of Elisabet, which is derived from Elisheva.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In Spanish/PortugueseEdit
Isabel is the Spanish and Portuguese version of the name Elisheva or Elizabeth in English.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In ItalianEdit
Elisabetta is the Italian version of Elizabeth,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> while Isabella is the Italian version of Elisheva.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>
In the Muslim worldEdit
Alishba is a modern name that is believed to have been derived from an Arabic-language translation of Elisheva.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> It is prevalent among Muslims in the Indian subcontinent.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>