Eliezer () was the name of at least three different individuals in the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
. '' Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

() was, according to

Targum Jonathan The Targum Jonathan () is the Aramaic translation of the Nevi'im section of the Hebrew Bible employed in Lower Mesopotamia ("Babylonia"). It is not to be confused with "Targum Pseudo-Jonathan," an Aramaic translation of the Torah. It is often kn ...

Bereishit, 14:14, the son of

Nimrod Nimrod is a Hebrew Bible, biblical figure mentioned in the Book of Genesis and Books of Chronicles, the Books of Chronicles. The son of Cush (Bible), Cush and therefore the great-grandson of Noah, Nimrod was described as a king in the land of Sh ...

. As mentioned in Genesis 15:2, Eliezer was head of the patriarch

Abraham Abraham (originally Abram) is the common Hebrews, Hebrew Patriarchs (Bible), patriarch of the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. In Judaism, he is the founding father who began the Covenant (biblical), covenanta ...

's household. 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; , ''Targūm ’Unqəlōs'') is t ...

as meaning "Eliezer the Damascene." Others say that he was given the name "Damascus" by Abraham, who purchased Eliezer from Nimrod and had passed through the city of Damascus while returning with his servant from

Babylonia Babylonia (; , ) was an Ancient history, ancient Akkadian language, Akkadian-speaking state and cultural area based in the city of Babylon in central-southern Mesopotamia (present-day Iraq and parts of Kuwait, Syria and Iran). It emerged as a ...

. Other translations of Genesis describe Eliezer as Abraham's heir. There is an interpretation in

Genesis Rabbah Genesis Rabbah (, also known as Bereshit Rabbah and abbreviated as GenR) is a religious text from Judaism's classical period, probably written between 300 and 500 CE with some later additions. It is an expository midrash comprising a collection of ...

(43:2), cited by

Rashi Shlomo Yitzchaki (; ; ; 13 July 1105) was a French rabbi who authored comprehensive commentaries on the Talmud and Hebrew Bible. He is commonly known by the List of rabbis known by acronyms, Rabbinic acronym Rashi (). Born in Troyes, Rashi stud ...

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

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

, 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 "senior servant of (Abraham's) household, who had charge of all that he owned," in Genesis 24:2, who obtained Rebecca as a bride for

Isaac Isaac ( ; ; ; ; ; ) is one of the three patriarchs (Bible), patriarchs of the Israelites and an important figure in the Abrahamic religions, including Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and the Baháʼí Faith. Isaac first appears in the Torah, in wh ...

, 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 as the heir of his house. Eliezer Zalmanov, ''Why Is Eliezer Anonymous?'', on Chabad.org

/ref>

The son of Moses

Eliezer was

Moses In Abrahamic religions, Moses was the Hebrews, Hebrew prophet who led the Israelites out of slavery in the The Exodus, Exodus from ancient Egypt, Egypt. He is considered the most important Prophets in Judaism, prophet in Judaism and Samaritani ...

's and

Zipporah Zipporah is mentioned in the Book of Exodus as the wife of Moses, and the daughter of Jethro (biblical figure), Jethro, the priest and prince of Midian. She is the mother of Moses' two sons: Eliezer and Gershom. In the Book of Chronicles, two of ...

's second son. His name means "Help of my God". The verse in the Exodus 18:4 states, " e other was named Eliezer, meaning, 'The God of my father’s ousewas my help, delivering me from the sword of

Pharaoh Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian language, Egyptian: ''wikt:pr ꜥꜣ, pr ꜥꜣ''; Meroitic language, Meroitic: 𐦲𐦤𐦧, ; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') was the title of the monarch of ancient Egypt from the First Dynasty of Egypt, First Dynasty ( ...

.'"

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

and Eliezer were born after Moses had taken refuge in

Midian Midian (; ; , ''Madiam''; Taymanitic: 𐪃𐪕𐪚𐪌 ''MDYN''; ''Mīḏyān'') is a geographical region in West Asia, located in northwestern Saudi Arabia. mentioned in the Tanakh and Quran. William G. Dever states that biblical Midian was ...

and married Jethro's daughter Zipporah.

Eliezer the prophet

A prophet called Eliezer, son of Dodavah, rebuked King

Jehoshaphat Jehoshaphat (; alternatively spelled Jehosaphat, Josaphat, or Yehoshafat; ; ; ), according to the Hebrew Bible, was the son of Asa, and the fourth king of the Kingdom of Judah, in succession to his father. His children included Jehoram, who ...

of Judah for aligning himself with King

Ahaziah of Israel Ahaziah (, " Yah has grasped"; also , ''Ochozias'' in the Septuagint and the Douai-Rheims translation) was the eighth king of the northern Kingdom of Israel and the son of Ahab and Jezebel. Like his father, he reigned from Samaria. William F ...

. Jehosophat and Ahaziah built ships in Ezion-Geber, which were to sail to

Tarshish Tarshish (; ; ) occurs in the Hebrew Bible with several uncertain meanings, most frequently as a place (probably a large city or region) far across the sea from Phoenicia (now Lebanon) and the Land of Israel. Tarshish was said to have exported v ...

for trade. According to

2 Chronicles 20 2 Chronicles 20 is the twentieth chapter of the Second Book of Chronicles the Old Testament in the Christian Bible or of the second part of the Books of Chronicles in the Hebrew Bible. The book is compiled from older sources by an unknown person ...

:37, the ships sank due to his not relying on God:

References

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

The servant of Abraham

The son of Moses

Eliezer the prophet

See also

References