wife of Heli

The unnamed wife of Heli shared a father with John ther Baptist's mother Elizabeth who was descended from Aaron, making her a Levite (Luke 1:5). This is inferred from the fact that John was related to Jesus who's male ancestral line came from the tribe of Judah. Elizabeth and her husband were described as elderly when Jesus and John were born (Luke 1:7), so she likely was from Mary's mother's generation. This creates the simples possible explanation for the fact that John and Jesus were related and yet were from different tribes.