Eliezer אֱלִיעֶ֫זֶר
A priest who married a foreign woman.
Who is Eliezer in the Bible?
Eliezer was a priest who married a foreign woman during the Babylonian exile and is mentioned in Ezra 10:18. After the Jewish people's return to Jerusalem, the priest Ezra discovered that many Israelites, including priests and Levites, had intermarried with neighboring pagan peoples in violation of God's command against such unions. Eliezer was among those priests who agreed to divorce his foreign wife as part of Ezra's covenant renewal reform. Though the Bible provides no further details about his life or priestly duties, Eliezer's example illustrates the broader struggle of the post-exilic community to maintain religious purity and obedience to God's laws during a vulnerable period of restoration.
Biography
Eliezer is mentioned as one of the priests who had married foreign women during the Babylonian exile (Ezr.10.18). After the return to Jerusalem, Ezra discovered that many of the Israelites, including priests and Levites, had intermarried with the neighboring peoples. This was a violation of God's command not to intermarry with the pagan nations. Eliezer was among those who had taken foreign wives, but he agreed to put away his wife as part of the covenant renewal led by Ezra. The Bible does not provide any further details about Eliezer's life or priestly service.
In Scripture
1 biblical book ; 1 with study contentEzra 1 verse
- Ezra 10:18
"Among the descendants of the priests who had married foreign women were found these descendants of Jeshua son of Jozadak and his brothers: Maaseiah, Eliezer, Jarib, and Gedaliah."
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Names & Aliases
| Form | Language | Script | Transliteration | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Named | Hebrew | אֱלִיעֶ֫זֶר | ʾĕliyʿezer | Eliezer , the name of a Damascene and of ten Israelites |