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Summary
- Isabelle is Elizabeth. The name lost its opening syllable in medieval Spanish and Occitan, and for centuries Isabel and Elizabeth were used interchangeably in the same families.
- Behind both is the Hebrew Elisheva — Elisheba, wife of Aaron, in Exodus 6:23.
- Luke 1:6-7 calls Elizabeth and Zechariah righteous and blameless and then says “but they were childless,” refusing in one sentence the connection everyone at the time would have made.
- She is the first person in Luke to say who Mary is carrying, and she says it before anyone tells her. The Magnificat is Mary’s reply.
- At the circumcision she insists on the name John, is overruled, and is confirmed only when her mute husband writes it down.
Bibliography (Click to show)
Sources: Behind the Name entries for Isabelle, Isabel and Elizabeth, and the loss of the initial syllable in medieval Spanish and Occitan; Scripture quotations from the NIV via BibleGateway (Exodus 6:23; Luke 1:5-7, 41-43, 57-64).
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