Elisheba Was Aaron’s Wife in the Bible – Exodus 6:23

Aaron’s wife in the Bible was Elisheba. However, very little is known about her since she is mentioned only one time. The single verse in the Bible concerning her is

Exodus 6:23 “And Aaron took him Elisheba, daughter of Amminadab, sister of Naashon, to wife; and she bare him Nadab, and Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar.” (KJV)

Bible scholars believe this verse was penned by Moses, Elisheba’s brother-in-law. To gain a glimpse of this wife of Aaron is to study the events that occurred around her and are recorded in the Old Testament books of Exodus and Numbers.

The name Elisheba means “God is my oath.”

Elisheba is more famous in Jewish traditions than in Biblical narratives. This article follows the recorded Biblical text of the events of Elisheba’s relatives.

Aaorn’s Wife in the Bible – A Daughter of Amminadab

Elisheba’s father, Amminadab, was from the tribe of Judah according to Numbers 1:7: “Of Judah; Nahshon the son of Amminadab.” (KJV) Elisheba’s father’s single, noteworthy achievement seems to be that he was the father of Nahshon.

Aaron’s Wife in the Bible – A Sister of Nahshon 

Nahshon, Elisheba’s brother was a prominent person in ancient Israel. He is mentioned in eight verses and described as a “captain of the children of Judah” (Numbers 2:3). He was also over the host (army) of the tribe of Judah (Numbers 10:14). Finally, 1 Chronicles 2:10 refers to him as “prince of the children of Judah.”  Exactly when Nahshon distinguished himself as a prince of the tribe of Judah is unknown, but it probably was after the children of Israel left Egypt and Aaron and Elisheba had been married for several years.

Family of Aaron 

There is nothing recorded in the Bible about Elisheba’s early life, but she was most likely born in Egypt. There is more information about the childhood of Elisheba’s husband, Aaron. Knowing the facts concerning Aaron allows us to deduct some information about Elisheba. 

Aaron and his sister, Miriam, and their baby brother, Moses, were all born in Egypt (Numbers 26:59) and were of the tribe of Levi. Around the time Moses was born, the king of Egypt instructed the Hebrew midwives to kill all Hebrew male children (Exodus 1:15-16). Obviously, this did not affect the birth of Elisheba since she was a girl. 

Nevertheless, this law did affect the early life of her famous brother-in-law, Moses. After Moses was born, his mother placed him in an ark, a small protective boat, and put it in the Nile River. His mother obeyed the command of the king when she did this according to Exodus 1:22 — “And Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, Every son that is born ye shall cast into the river.” (KJV)

Moses was soon found, adopted, and raised by an Egyptian princess in the court of Pharaoh. When Moses was 80 years old, God called him to deliver the children of Israel from slavery in Egypt.

It would be logical to believe that when the children of Israel were still in Egypt, Elisheba and Aaron got married and had their four sons, Nadab, Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar. When God delivered the children of Israel from the land of Egypt, using both Moses and Aaron, Elisheba’s four sons were grown men.

Aaron’s Wife in the Bible – Outside of Egypt

Elisheba must have accompanied Aaron as he and Moses led the children of Israel out of Egypt. She, just like the wives of other tribesmen, ate the manna and the quail that God provided, according to Exodus 16:12-15:

“I have heard the murmurings of the children of Israel: speak unto them, saying, At even ye shall eat flesh, and in the morning ye shall be filled with bread; and ye shall know that I am the LORD your God. And it came to pass, that at even the quails came up, and covered the camp: and in the morning the dew lay round about the host. And when the dew that lay was gone up, behold, upon the face of the wilderness there lay a small round thing, as small as the hoar frost on the ground. And when the children of Israel saw it, they said one to another, It is manna: for they wist not what it was. And Moses said unto them, This is the bread which the LORD hath given you to eat.” (KJV)

God at Mount Sinai

Elisheba, along with the rest of the congregation of Israel, met with God at the base of Mount Sinai. She heard the voice of the trumpet, the voice of God, and saw her brother-in-law go up into Mount Sinai, as recorded in Exodus 19:9-20.

God invited Moses, along with Elisheba’s husband, Aaron, their two oldest sons, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy elders of Israel to worship Him in Exodus 24:1. She must have heard the glowing description of what her three family members saw when they saw God, which is described in Exodus 24:9-11.

She must have been so proud of Aaron when God left him in charge of the people of Israel while Moses went into the cloud on Mount Sinai to meet with God. But days turned into weeks, and there was no sign of Moses. The people, perhaps including Elisheba herself, became restless. They were wondering what happened to Moses and may have thought that he died.

The Golden Calf Incident

Aaron, Nadab, Abihu, and the seventy elders of Israel seemed to have forgotten the great sight of God that they were privileged to look upon just forty days earlier. They, along with the people of Israel, begged Aaron to make them an idol to lead them, most likely back to Egypt.

Aaron did not appear to have any problem with their request. He told them to donate their gold jewelry and with those things he fashioned a calf. Then, he built an altar to it, and promised the next day to hold a feast honoring this piece of artwork, which he now called “the LORD.” This sad lapse in judgment by Elisheba’s husband is recorded in Exodus 32:1-6.

The feelings of Elisheba about what her husband did are not recorded. Did she protest against what he intended to do? Did she remind him of what he had seen and heard on the mount, or was she just as willing and eager to worship this beautiful, golden idol that her husband fashioned?

When God saw what Aaron and the rest of the people were doing, He was furious, and sent Moses back to them with His judgment. Part of the punishment of God on His disobedient people was that Moses burnt Aaron’s calf, ground it to powder, threw the powder into water, and made the people drink that polluted water. Elisheba, Aaron, and their sons had to ingest this poisoned water.  

The Actions of the Sons of Levi

Drinking the polluted water was only part of the punishment from God. Moses was not done yet. His next declaration is found in Exodus 32:26:

“Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on the LORD'S side? let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him.” (KJV)

Aaron and Elisheba’s sons were of the tribe of Levi. It is possible that Aaron’s sons, not mentioned by name here, were appalled at their father’s actions and responded to Moses’ call to action. In Exodus 32:27-28, the sons of the tribe of Levi put to death about three thousand men. Aaron, the ringleader of this rebellion against the Lord, was not executed, but his actions triggered this severe punishment. 

Elisheba must have been so grateful that her husband had not been killed by God for his foolish actions, but at the same time, she must have felt horrible, perhaps guilty, and even angry with God’s judgments on the others.

Aaron — God’s First High Priest 

God chose Aaron and his four sons to begin the Levitical priesthood. When Moses was on Mount Sinai receiving the laws by which the children of Israel were to govern themselves, God’s instructions to Moses were for Aaron and his sons to be God’s priests for future generations.

Exodus 27:21 and 28:1-2 “In the tabernacle of the congregation without the vail, which is before the testimony, Aaron and his sons shall order it from evening to morning before the LORD: it shall be a statute for ever unto their generations on the behalf of the children of Israel. And take thou unto thee Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel, that he may minister unto me in the priest's office, even Aaron, Nadab and, Eleazar and Ithamar, Aaron's sons. And thou shalt make holy garments for Aaron thy brother for glory and for beauty.” (KJV)

Elisheba must have been so proud to see her five men all dressed up in the special and beautiful garments reserved exclusively for the priestly office. God had chosen her family to serve Him in a very special way.

The Strange Fire and Its Consequences

Aaron, the first high priest, was doubly blessed since he was able to share the priestly office with his sons. The tabernacle, the place of worship, the tent of meeting, was set up and prepared for its use in the worship of God. Moses himself dressed Aaron and his four sons in their beautiful, ceremonial priestly garments and then started the weeklong dedication service of the tabernacle. On the eighth day of the celebration, fire from God came down from heaven and consumed the sacrifices on the altar. 

At this supernatural display of acceptance from the God they served, the whole congregation fell on their faces and shouted, as would Elisheba. But two of Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu, when they saw God’s fire fall, took censors, filled them with incense, lit the incense, and attempted to offer it before the LORD.

This action was not part of God’s holy worship, and He was not to be mocked. The same fire that had devoured the animal sacrifices, as a show of divine acceptance, then became a tool of the LORD’s anger and immediately consumed Elisheba’s two oldest sons. 

This terrible incident of the unauthorized use of the fire is recorded in

Leviticus 10:1-2 “And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the LORD, which he commanded them not. And there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD.” (KJV)

That day, Elisheba’s joy was turned into grief.

The Second Wife of Moses

Siblings don’t always get along, in spite of their prominent position in the service of God. Moses later took a second wife. It is not clear if his first wife passed away and he remarried, or if he had two wives at one time. Regardless, his second wife was an Ethiopian woman, or as some Bible scholars indicate, a Cushite woman. This union was criticized by Miriam, the sister of Aaron and Moses, and by Aaron himself.

Numbers 12:1 “And Miriam and Aaron spake against Moses because of the Ethiopian woman whom he had married: for he had married an Ethiopian woman.” (KJV)

The feelings and words of Elisheba are unknown. Did she side with her husband against her brother-in-law or not?

It seems, according to the next verse, that the anger of Miriam and Aaron was because of their jealousy toward their brother more so than Moses’ personal life.

Numbers 12:2 “And they said, Hath the LORD indeed spoken only by Moses? hath he not spoken also by us? And the LORD heard it.” Numbers 12:2 (KJV)

God did speak directly to Moses, and in turn, Moses relayed God’s messages to the congregation of Israel; Aaron and Miriam seemed to crave some of his prestige. The Bible records that despite Moses’ close position to God Himself, Moses was a man of great humility.

This complaining by Aaron and Miriam resulted in God’s punishment. God pulled the three of them aside to the door of the tabernacle, and from the pillar of cloud He told all three of them that He chose Moses to be His spokesman because of Moses’ faithfulness. When God was finished scolding Aaron and Miriam and praising Moses, Miriam’s body was filled with the uncurable and deadly disease of leprosy.

Aaron was unscathed. But when he saw the horrific condition of his sister, he immediately begged Moses for his forgiveness for their sin and begged Moses to heal her. Moses then cried to God asking Him to make Miriam whole. God did, but not until seven days later. This incident is recorded in Numbers chapter 12.

Aaron’s Death

Aaron was a central figure among the tribes of Israel as the high priest of God, so even his death was a ceremony. 

Numbers 20:23-24 “And the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron in mount Hor, by the coast of the land of Edom, saying, Aaron shall be gathered unto his people: for he shall not enter into the land which I have given unto the children of Israel, because ye rebelled against my word at the water of Meribah.” (KJV)

God told Moses to take Aaron, and his son, Eleazar, up into Mount Hor. There, Moses was to take off Aaron’s priestly garments and put them on Eleazar. This was symbolic of the priestly duties being passed on to the next generation. When this was completed, Aaron died. Moses, with Eleazar, who was now the high priest in the office of his father, then returned to the camp of Israel. It is unknown if Elisheba said her final goodbye to her husband and watched, her eyes filled with tears, as he with their son and Moses ascended into Mount Hor.

Some modern scholars believe there is a contradiction in the Bible since the account of Aaron’s death, as recorded in Deuteronomy 10:6, gives the place of his death as Mosera, rather than Mount Hor. But many other Bible scholars resolve this seeming contradiction by saying the place named Mosera is a specific location in the area of Mount Hor. 

There is no mention of Elisheba’s death. But eventually, she, too, like her husband and sons, were gathered to her people. Elisheba did not enter the promised land of Canaan.

Zacharias and Elizabeth in the New Testament

Centuries later, in the New Testament, a lady by the name of Elisabeth, possibly the Greek form of the name Elisheba, was descended from Aaron and Elisheba. Elisabeth is introduced in

Luke 1:5 “There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth.” (KJV)

Elisabeth was a cousin of Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ. Elisabeth, like her ancestor, was also the wife of Zacharias, a priest at the Temple in Jerusalem. She and Zacharias became parents of John the Baptist. 

There is not much known about Aaron’s wife in the Bible, but she was a woman of faith, and that, more so than the events of her life and the experiences of her famous relatives, makes her special.

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