
\ifdefiningfootnotes

\DeclareFixedFootnote{\fnElizabet}{ELISABET: The Greek form of Hebrew ``Elisheva'' (``God is my oath''), 
the name borne in the Septuagint by the wife of Aaron, first High Priest of Israel --- 
mother of the priestly line through her sons Nadab, 
Abihu, Eleazar, and Ithamar (Exodus 6:23). Luke does not leave this echo implicit: he states 
directly that his ELISABET was herself "of the daughters of Aaron" (1:5), a priestly-lineage 
descendant of the Old Testament ELISABET by name and blood both. Her husband ZACHARIAS is 
likewise a priest. The household into which John the Baptist is born is thus doubly marked as 
priestly — by descent and by naming — before the narrative says a single word about his mission.

A pattern worth noting alongside MARIAM: Luke names both women central to his infancy narrative 
using the LXX-echoing Hebrew forms of their names (ELISABET, MARIAM), each recalling a specific 
Exodus-era woman connected to Israel's founding leadership --- Aaron's wife and Moses's sister, 
themselves apparently linked by marriage into the same family. Luke's choice of names appears 
deliberate, not incidental.}

\fi