Elizabeth (Biblical person)

:Saint Elisabeth redirects here. For other saints of this name, see Elizabeth (given name).
Saint Elizabeth, also spelled Elisabeth or Elisheva (Hebrew אֱלִישֶׁבַע / אֱלִישָׁבַע "My God is an oath", Standard Hebrew ~ , Tiberian Hebrew ~ ) was the mother of St. John the Baptist and the wife of St. Zachary/Zacharias, according to the Gospel of Luke and the Quran. She is also known by the variants of her first name, such as Isabel, Isabella, Isabelle, etc.
==Relation to Mary==
No one really knows that much about St. Elizabeth.
In Luke 1:36 (Kings James Version) of the Bible Elizabeth is described as a relative of Mary. The Greek word used is , which can refer to various forms of kinship. According to the Catholic Encyclopedia their relation is given by St. Hippolytus, according to whom they are cousins; the mother of Elizabeth, Sobe and the mother of Mary, Saint Anne are sisters Catholic Encyclopedia. The mother of Mary is also known from another source, the infancy Gospel of James.
Some translations of this verse states their relations as relative 
Good News Bible, (Today's English Version) American Bible Society
World English Bible
, kinswoman
American Standard Version, 1901
or 'of your family'
Bible in Basic English
, others such as the King James, states that they are cousins.
King James
The Islamic tradition holds that Elizabeth was sister of Anne and thus aunt of Mary.
==In The Bible==
According to the Gospel of Luke, Elizabeth was a descendant of Aaron the priest (). She and her husband Zechariah were "righteous before God, living blamelessly" (), but childless. Zechariah was visited by the angel Gabriel, who told him his wife would have a son who "will be great in the sight of the Lord" ().
The pregnant Elizabeth received a visit from her relative, Mary (), who was pregnant with Jesus:
: And it came to pass, that when Elizabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the infant leaped in her womb.
: And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost and she cried out with a loud voice:
: "Blessed are thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb." ()
When Mary heard this she recited the Magnificat. This event is called the Visitation.
Elizabeth is not mentioned in the Christian Bible outside of the Gospel of Luke, but she is mentioned in several books of the Apocrypha, most prominently in the Protevangelion of James, in which the birth of her son and the subsequent murder of her husband are chronicled.
==Sainthood==
Elizabeth is revered as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church on November 5, and in the Orthodox and Anglican traditions on September 5, on the same day with her husband St. Zachary/Zechariah. She is commemorated as a matriarch in the Calendar of Saints (September 5) of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod and Zechariah is commemorated as a prophet.
==See also==
* Visitation (Christian)
==Notes and references==
<Center>Mary visits ElizabethLife of Jesus: The Nativity	<Center>Mary visits ElizabethLife of Jesus: The Nativity	<Center>Mary visits ElizabethLife of Jesus: The Nativity
<Center> 	<Center>New TestamentEvents 	<Center>
Category:1st-century BC births
Category:1st-century deaths
Category:New Testament people
Category:Saints from the Holy Land
Category:Palestinian Roman Catholic saints
Category:Prophets in Christianity
Category:1st-century Christian female saints
ar:إليصابات
bg:Елисавета (Библия)
ca:Elisabet
cs:Alžběta (matka Jana Křtitele)
de:Elisabet
et:Eliisabet
es:Isabel (santa)
eo:Elizabeto (patrino de Johano la Baptisto)
fa:الیصابات
fr:Élisabeth (mère de Jean le Baptiste)
gl:Isabel#Relixión
ko:엘리사벳
id:Elisabet
it:Elisabetta (madre del Battista)
he:אלישבע, אם יוחנן המטביל
li:Elisabeth (biebel)
nl:Elisabet
pl:Elżbieta (postać biblijna)
pt:Isabel (Bíblia)
ru:Праведная Елизавета
sv:Elisabet (biblisk person)
uk:Свята Єлисавета
zh:以利沙伯