You are strongly recommended to add to your library the excellent revised edition of Harper's Bible Dictionary titled, The Harper Collins Bible Dictionary, Revised Edition [book review], edited by Paul J. Achtemeier, with the Society of Biblical Literature (NY: Harper Collins, 1996). It is currently the best one-volume Bible dictionary in English, and it is available at Border's Books, Christian Science Reading Rooms, http://www.borders.com, or http://www.christianbook.com.

Elizabeth (kjv: ‘Elisabeth’), 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; 18:9-15; 21:1-7) and Hannah (1 Sam. 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 ‘kinswoman’ Mary at the annunciation. Mary then visited Elizabeth. Although, according to Luke, it was Mary who visited Elizabeth, it was also Mary who was honored by Elizabeth’s prophecy that she would be the mother of the Lord. Thus, for Luke, just as John the Baptist would be subordinate to Jesus, so also was John’s mother subordinate to Mary.

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