For the mathematician and Tamil activist see C.J. Eliezer; for the AI researcher and writer on rationality see Eliezer Yudkowsky; for the Levite priest of the Hebrew Bible, see Eleazar. For the great rabbi from the Second Commonwealth period, see Eliezer ben Hurcanus.
Eliezer (Hebrew: אֱלִיעֶזֶר, Modern Eli'ezer Tiberian ʼĔlîʻézer, "Help/Court of my God") was the name of at least three different individuals in the Bible.
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Eliezer was Moses and Zipporah's second son. His name means "God is help" in Hebrew.
The verse in the Book of Exodus (18:4) states:
| “ | The name of the (other) son was Eliezer, because 'My father's God (Eli) was my helper (ezer), rescuing me from Pharaoh's sword. | ” |
Both Gershom and Eliezer were born during the time Moses had taken refuge in Midian and had married Jethro's daughter Zipporah.
There is also an Eliezer known as Eliezer of Damascus (Hebrew: דַּמֶּשֶׂק אֱלִיעֶזֶר, Modern Damméseq Eliʿézer Tiberian Damméśeq ʾĔlîʿézer), son of Nimrod,[1] and head of the patriarch Abraham's household mentioned in the Book of Genesis (15:2).
| “ | And Abram said, "My Lord, Hashem/Elohim: What can you give me seeing that I go childless, and the steward of my house is the Damascene Eliezer? — Lech-Lecha [2] | ” |
There is an interpretation in Bereshit Rabbah (43:2), cited by Rashi, that Eliezer went alone with Abraham to rescue Lot, with the reference to "his initiates" stated to be 318 in number (Lech-Lecha 14:14) being the numerical value of Eliezer's name in Hebrew, interpreted in tractate Nedarim (32a) as Abraham not wishing to rely on a miracle by taking only one individual.[3] According to most interpretations, the unnamed "...slave, the elder of the household, who controlled all that was his" in Chayei Sarah 24:2 who acted as a marriage broker (sharchan) for Isaac was this Eliezer.
A prophet called Eliezer, son of Dodavah, rebuked King Jehosophat for aligning himself with Ahaziah, the King of Israel. He 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:
| “ | Eliezer son of Dodavahu of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, "Because you have made an alliance with Ahaziah, the LORD will destroy what you have made." The ships were wrecked and were not able to set sail to trade. | ” |
Eliezer is the name of the 501(c)(3) non-profit organization which supports the activities of the Yale student club at Yale University.
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