Lives of Scripture

Elizabeth, described as righteous before God and blameless in observing His commandments, was married to the priest Zacharias, and the two had remained childless into old age, which Elizabeth calls her 'reproach among men' (Luke 1:5-7, 25). After the angel Gabriel announced to Zacharias that they would have a son, Elizabeth conceived and kept herself in seclusion for five months, recognizing what God had done for her (1:24-25). When her relative Mary, newly pregnant with Jesus, came to visit, 'the baby leaped in her womb' the moment Mary greeted her, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit (1:39-41). She spoke out with a loud cry, becoming the first person in Luke's Gospel to recognize and name Mary's unborn child as her Lord: 'Blessed among women are you, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And how has it happened to me, that the mother of my Lord would come to me?' (1:42-43). Elizabeth also blessed Mary for believing what the Lord had spoken to her, a statement of genuine spiritual insight and encouragement at a moment when Mary's own circumstances could easily have invited doubt or shame from others (1:45). Mary stayed with her about three months before returning home (1:56). When Elizabeth's own son was born, she insisted, against her relatives' expectations, that he be named John exactly as Gabriel had instructed, confirmed moments later when Zacharias's speech was restored (1:57-63).