Eliezer (, "Help/Court of El") was the name of at least three different individuals in the

Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts ...

Eliezer of Damascus

West, Benjamin - Isaac's servant trying the bracelet on Rebecca's arm

Eliezer of Damascus () was, according to the

Targum A targum ( arc, תרגום 'interpretation, translation, version') was an originally spoken translation of the Hebrew Bible (also called the ''Tanakh'') that a professional translator ( ''mǝturgǝmān'') would give in the common language of the ...

s, the son of

Nimrod Nimrod (; ; arc, ܢܡܪܘܕ; ar, نُمْرُود, Numrūd) is a biblical figure mentioned in the Book of Genesis and Books of Chronicles. The son of Cush and therefore a great-grandson of Noah, Nimrod was described as a king in the land of ...

. Eliezer was head of the patriarch

Abraham Abraham, ; ar, , , name=, group= (originally Abram) is the common Hebrew patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father of the special relationship between the Je ...

's household, as mentioned in the

Book of Genesis The Book of Genesis (from Greek ; Hebrew: בְּרֵאשִׁית ''Bəreʾšīt'', "In hebeginning") is the first book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. Its Hebrew name is the same as its first word, ( "In the beginning" ...

(15:2). Medieval biblical exegetes have explained the noun ''ben mešeq'' as meaning "butler; steward; overseer", while the name ''Damméseq Eliʿézer'' is explained by

Targum Onkelos Interlinear text of Hebrew Numbers 6.3–10 with British_Library.html"_;"title="Aramaic_Targum_Onkelos_from_the_British_Library">Aramaic_Targum_Onkelos_from_the_British_Library. Targum_Onkelos_(or_Onqelos;_Hebrew_language.html" "title="B ...

as meaning "Eliezer the Damascene." Others say that he was given the name "Damascus" by Abraham who purchased Eliezer from

, and had passed through the city of Damascus while returning with his servant from Babylonia. Other translations of Genesis describe Eliezer as Abraham's heir. There is an interpretation in Bereshit Rabbah (43:2), cited by

Rashi Shlomo Yitzchaki ( he, רבי שלמה יצחקי; la, Salomon Isaacides; french: Salomon de Troyes, 22 February 1040 – 13 July 1105), today generally known by the acronym Rashi (see below), was a medieval French rabbi and author of a compre ...

, that Eliezer went alone with Abraham to rescue Lot, with the reference to "his initiates" stated to be 318 in number () being the numerical value of Eliezer's name in

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

, interpreted in tractate Nedarim (32a) as Abraham not wishing to rely on a miracle by taking only one individual.Herczeg, Y.I.Z, ''The Torah: with Rashi's commentary'', Vol.1, Mesorah Publications, New York, 2000, p. 138

The servant of Abraham

According to most interpretations, the unnamed "servant, the elder of braham'shouse, that ruled over all that he had," () who obtained

Rebeccah Rebecca, ; Syriac: , ) from the Hebrew (lit., 'connection'), from Semitic root , 'to tie, couple or join', 'to secure', or 'to snare') () appears in the Hebrew Bible as the wife of Isaac and the mother of Jacob and Esau. According to biblical ...

as a bride for

Isaac Isaac; grc, Ἰσαάκ, Isaák; ar, إسحٰق/إسحاق, Isḥāq; am, ይስሐቅ is one of the three patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. He was th ...

, was the same Eliezer. This name is first found in the Bible in Genesis 15:2 when Abraham asks God about his promises of a Son while being childless, naming Eliezer being the current heir of his house. Eliezer Zalmanov, ''Why Is Eliezer Anonymous?'', on Chabad.org

/ref>

The son of Moses

Eliezer was Moses' and

Zipporah Zipporah, or Tzipora (; he, צִפּוֹרָה, ''Ṣīppōrā'', "bird"),, ''Sepphōra''; ar, صفورة, ''Ṣaffūrah'' is mentioned in the Book of Exodus as the wife of Moses, and the daughter of Reuel/Jethro, the priest and prince of Mid ...

's second son. His name means "Help of my God" in

. The verse in the

Book of Exodus The Book of Exodus (from grc, Ἔξοδος, translit=Éxodos; he, שְׁמוֹת ''Šəmōṯ'', "Names") is the second book of the Bible. It narrates the story of the Exodus, in which the Israelites leave slavery in Biblical Egypt through ...

(18:4) states: Both

Gershom According to the Bible, Gershom ( ''Gēršōm'', "a sojourner there"; la, Gersam) was the primogeniture, firstborn son of Moses and Zipporah. The name means "a stranger there" in Hebrew, ( ''ger sham''), which the text argues was a reference to ...

and Eliezer were born during the time Moses had taken refuge in Midian and had married Jethro (Bible), Jethro's daughter Zipporah.

Eliezer the prophet

A prophet called Eliezer, son of Dodavah, rebuked King Jehosophat for aligning himself with Ahaziah of Israel, Ahaziah, the King of Israel. Jehosophat and Ahaziah built ships in Ezion-Geber which were to sail to Tarshish for trade. According to 2 Chronicles (20:37), the ships sank due to his not relying on the Lord:

References

{{Extra-Quranic Prophets of Islam 9th-century BCE Hebrew people Book of Genesis people Book of Exodus people Nimrod

Eliezer of Damascus

The servant of Abraham

The son of Moses

Eliezer the prophet

See also

References