Luke 2:36
New International Version
There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage,

New Living Translation
Anna, a prophet, was also there in the Temple. She was the daughter of Phanuel from the tribe of Asher, and she was very old. Her husband died when they had been married only seven years.

English Standard Version
And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin,

Berean Standard Bible
There was also a prophetess named Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher, who was well along in years. She had been married for seven years,

Berean Literal Bible
And there was a prophetess, Anna, daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She, being advanced greatly in years, had lived with a husband seven years from her marriage,

King James Bible
And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser: she was of a great age, and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity;

New King James Version
Now there was one, Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity;

New American Standard Bible
And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years and had lived with her husband for seven years after her marriage,

NASB 1995
And there was a prophetess, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years and had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage,

NASB 1977
And there was a prophetess, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with a husband seven years after her marriage,

Legacy Standard Bible
And there was a prophetess, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin,

Amplified Bible
There was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old, and had lived with her husband for seven years after her marriage,

Christian Standard Bible
There was also a prophetess, Anna, a daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was well along in years, having lived with her husband seven years after her marriage,

Holman Christian Standard Bible
There was also a prophetess, Anna, a daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was well along in years, having lived with her husband seven years after her marriage,

American Standard Version
And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher (she was of a great age, having lived with a husband seven years from her virginity,

Contemporary English Version
The prophet Anna was also there in the temple. She was the daughter of Phanuel from the tribe of Asher, and she was very old. In her youth she had been married for seven years, but her husband died.

English Revised Version
And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher (she was of a great age, having lived with a husband seven years from her virginity,

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Anna, a prophet, was also there. She was a descendant of Phanuel from the tribe of Asher. She was now very old. Her husband had died seven years after they were married,

International Standard Version
Now Anna, a prophetess, was also there. She was a descendant of Phanuel from the tribe of Asher. She was very old, having lived with her husband for seven years after her marriage,

Majority Standard Bible
There was also a prophetess named Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher, who was well along in years. She had been married for seven years,

NET Bible
There was also a prophetess, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old, having been married to her husband for seven years until his death.

New Heart English Bible
There was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher (she was of a great age, having lived with a husband seven years from her virginity,

Webster's Bible Translation
And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher: she was of a great age, and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity;

Weymouth New Testament
There was also Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, belonging to the tribe of Asher. She was of a very great age, having had after her maidenhood seven years of married life,

World English Bible
There was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher (she was of a great age, having lived with a husband seven years from her virginity,
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
And there was Anna, a prophetess, daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher, she was much advanced in days, having lived with a husband seven years from her virginity,

Berean Literal Bible
And there was a prophetess, Anna, daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She, being advanced greatly in years, had lived with a husband seven years from her marriage,

Young's Literal Translation
And there was Anna, a prophetess, daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher, she was much advanced in days, having lived with an husband seven years from her virginity,

Smith's Literal Translation
And Anna was a prophetess, daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser: she advanced in many days, having lived with a husband seven years from her virginity;
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser; she was far advanced in years, and had lived with her husband seven years from her virginity.

Catholic Public Domain Version
And there was a prophetess, Anna, a daughter of Phanuel, from the tribe of Asher. She was very advanced in years, and she had lived with her husband for seven years from her virginity.

New American Bible
There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived seven years with her husband after her marriage,

New Revised Standard Version
There was also a prophet, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was of a great age, having lived with her husband seven years after her marriage,
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
And Hannah the prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher, was of a great age; and she had lived seven years with her husband from the days of her virginity.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And Hannah the Prophetess, daughter of Phanuel from the tribe of Asher, she was also in her old age, and had lived with her husband seven years after her virginity.
NT Translations
Anderson New Testament
And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher; she was of great age, and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity:

Godbey New Testament
And Anna was a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel of the tribe of Asher, herself being advanced in many days, having lived with her husband seven years from her virginity;

Haweis New Testament
And there was Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asser: she was far advanced in old age, having lived but seven years with a husband, from her virgin state:

Mace New Testament
There was likewise one Anna a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser; she was of a great age, and had liv'd in a married state but seven years ever since she was a virgin:

Weymouth New Testament
There was also Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, belonging to the tribe of Asher. She was of a very great age, having had after her maidenhood seven years of married life,

Worrell New Testament
And there was Anna, a prophetess, daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher, (she was far advanced in days, having lived with a husband seven years from her virginity;

Worsley New Testament
And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser; who was of a great age, having lived with a husband seven years from her first marrying,

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
The Prophecy of Anna
35so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed—and a sword will pierce your soul as well.” 36There was also a prophetess named Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher, who was well along in years. She had been married for seven years, 37and then was a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple, but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying.…

Cross References
1 Samuel 1:1-28
Now there was a man named Elkanah who was from Ramathaim-zophim in the hill country of Ephraim. He was the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu, the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. / He had two wives, one named Hannah and the other Peninnah. And Peninnah had children, but Hannah had none. / Year after year Elkanah would go up from his city to worship and sacrifice to the LORD of Hosts at Shiloh, where Eli’s two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were priests to the LORD. ...

1 Samuel 2:18-21
Now Samuel was ministering before the LORD—a boy wearing a linen ephod. / Each year his mother would make him a little robe and bring it to him when she went with her husband to offer the annual sacrifice. / And Eli would bless Elkanah and his wife, saying, “May the LORD give you children by this woman in place of the one she dedicated to the LORD.” Then they would go home. ...

1 Samuel 2:26
And the boy Samuel continued to grow in stature and in favor with the LORD and with man.

2 Chronicles 34:22-28
So Hilkiah and those the king had designated went and spoke to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum son of Tokhath, the son of Hasrah, the keeper of the wardrobe. She lived in Jerusalem, in the Second District. / And Huldah said to them, “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Tell the man who sent you / that this is what the LORD says: I am about to bring calamity on this place and on its people, according to all the curses written in the book that has been read in the presence of the king of Judah, ...

Nehemiah 7:67
in addition to their 7,337 menservants and maidservants, as well as their 245 male and female singers.

Psalm 68:11
The Lord gives the command; a great company of women proclaim it:

Isaiah 8:3
And I had relations with the prophetess, and she conceived and gave birth to a son. The LORD said to me, “Name him Maher-shalal-hash-baz.

Joel 2:28-29
And afterward, I will pour out My Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. / Even on My menservants and maidservants, I will pour out My Spirit in those days.

Micah 6:4
For I brought you up from the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery. I sent Moses before you, as well as Aaron and Miriam.

Acts 21:9
He had four unmarried daughters who prophesied.

Acts 2:17-18
‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out My Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. / Even on My menservants and maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy.

Acts 13:1
Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch), and Saul.

1 Corinthians 11:5
And every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head, for it is just as if her head were shaved.

1 Corinthians 14:3-5
But he who prophesies speaks to men for their edification, encouragement, and comfort. / The one who speaks in a tongue edifies himself, but the one who prophesies edifies the church. / I wish that all of you could speak in tongues, but I would rather have you prophesy. He who prophesies is greater than one who speaks in tongues, unless he interprets so that the church may be edified.

1 Corinthians 14:29-33
Two or three prophets should speak, and the others should weigh carefully what is said. / And if a revelation comes to someone who is seated, the first speaker should stop. / For you can all prophesy in turn so that everyone may be instructed and encouraged. ...


Treasury of Scripture

And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser: she was of a great age, and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity;

a prophetess.

Exodus 15:20
And Miriam the prophetess, the sister of Aaron, took a timbrel in her hand; and all the women went out after her with timbrels and with dances.

Judges 4:4
And Deborah, a prophetess, the wife of Lapidoth, she judged Israel at that time.

2 Kings 22:14
So Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam, and Achbor, and Shaphan, and Asahiah, went unto Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvah, the son of Harhas, keeper of the wardrobe; (now she dwelt in Jerusalem in the college;) and they communed with her.

Aser.

Genesis 30:13
And Leah said, Happy am I, for the daughters will call me blessed: and she called his name Asher.

Asher.

Revelation 7:6
Of the tribe of Aser were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Nepthalim were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Manasses were sealed twelve thousand.

she.

Job 5:26
Thou shalt come to thy grave in a full age, like as a shock of corn cometh in in his season.

Psalm 92:14
They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing;

Jump to Previous
Advanced Age Anna Aser Asher Daughter Family Great Hearts Husband Life Marriage Married Phanuel Pierce Prophet Prophetess Reasonings Revealed Seven Soul Sword Tribe Virginity
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Advanced Age Anna Aser Asher Daughter Family Great Hearts Husband Life Marriage Married Phanuel Pierce Prophet Prophetess Reasonings Revealed Seven Soul Sword Tribe Virginity
Luke 2
1. Augustus taxes all the Roman empire.
6. The nativity of Jesus.
8. An angel relates it to the shepherds, and many sing praises to God for it.
15. The shepherds glorify God.
21. Jesus is circumcised.
22. Mary purified.
25. Simeon and Anna prophesy of Jesus,
39. who increases in wisdom,
41. questions in the temple with the teachers,
51. and is obedient to his parents.














There was also a prophetess
The term "prophetess" in this context is significant, as it highlights the role of women in the early biblical narrative. The Greek word used here is "προφήτις" (prophētis), which indicates a female who speaks forth by divine inspiration. In the conservative Christian perspective, this acknowledges that God can and does use women to convey His messages, affirming their value and role in His divine plan. Anna's role as a prophetess underscores the inclusivity of God's call, transcending gender and societal norms of the time.

Anna
The name "Anna" is derived from the Hebrew name "Hannah," meaning "grace" or "favor." This name is fitting for a woman who is depicted as devout and favored by God to witness the presentation of Jesus at the temple. Her presence in the narrative is a testament to God's grace, as she is given the privilege of recognizing the Messiah. In a broader sense, Anna's life exemplifies the grace that God extends to those who are faithful and devoted to Him.

the daughter of Phanuel
The mention of Anna being "the daughter of Phanuel" provides a genealogical context, which is a common biblical practice to establish identity and heritage. The name "Phanuel" means "face of God" in Hebrew, suggesting a lineage that is spiritually significant. This connection may imply that Anna's family was known for their piety and devotion to God, further emphasizing her own spiritual dedication and the divine favor upon her family.

of the tribe of Asher
The tribe of Asher was one of the twelve tribes of Israel, known for its blessings of prosperity and happiness as prophesied by Jacob in Genesis 49:20. Asher's territory was located in the northern part of Israel, and its people were known for their agricultural abundance. Anna's identification with the tribe of Asher highlights the fulfillment of God's promises to His people and serves as a reminder of the blessings that come from faithfulness to God.

She was well along in years
This phrase indicates Anna's advanced age, which in biblical times was often associated with wisdom and experience. Her long life is a testament to her enduring faith and devotion. In a conservative Christian view, her age also symbolizes the culmination of a life lived in anticipation of the Messiah, representing the hope and fulfillment found in Christ. Her longevity is a reminder of the blessings of a life dedicated to God.

having lived with her husband seven years after her marriage
The specific mention of "seven years" is significant, as the number seven in biblical terms often symbolizes completeness or perfection. Although Anna's marriage was relatively short, it was complete in its purpose and fulfillment. Her subsequent years of widowhood were spent in devotion to God, illustrating a life of faithfulness despite personal loss. This reflects the conservative Christian belief in finding purpose and fulfillment in God's service, regardless of life's circumstances.

(36) One Anna, a prophetess.--The fact is in many ways remarkable. We find a woman recognised as a prophetess at a time when no man is recognised as a prophet. She bears the name of the mother of the founder of the School of the Prophets, identical with that which the legends of Apocryphal Gospels assign to the mother of the Virgin. She is named, as if it were a well-known fact, as having been the wife of Phanuel, and she is not of the tribe of Judah, but of Aser. That tribe, then, though belonging to the Ten that had been carried into exile by Shalmaneser (2Kings 17:6), had not been altogether lost. Some, at least, of its members survived and cherished the genealogies of their descent, as one family of the neighbouring tribe of Naphthali are said to have done at Nineveh (Tobit 1:2). In that family also we find the name of Anna (Tobit 1:9).

Seven years from her virginity.--The words are emphasised (1) as expressing chastity prior to marriage, and (2) as excluding the thought of a second marriage.

Verses 36-38. - Greeting of Anna the prophetess. Verse 36. - There was one Anna, a prophetess. The name of this holy woman is the same as that of the mother of Samuel. It is not necessary to assume that this Anna had the gift of foretelling future events. She was, at all events, a preacher. These saintly, gifted women, though never numerous, were not unknown in the story of the chosen people. We read of the doings - in some cases the very words are preserved - of Miriam, Hannah, Deborah, Huldah, and others. Of the tribe of Aser. It is true that at this period the ten tribes had been long lost, the "Jews" being made up of the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin; but yet certain families preserved their genealogies, tracing their descent to one or other of the lost divisions of the people. Thus Anna belonged to Asher.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Greek
There was
ἦν (ēn)
Verb - Imperfect Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 1510: I am, exist. The first person singular present indicative; a prolonged form of a primary and defective verb; I exist.

also
Καὶ (Kai)
Conjunction
Strong's 2532: And, even, also, namely.

a prophetess
προφῆτις (prophētis)
Noun - Nominative Feminine Singular
Strong's 4398: A prophetess. Feminine of prophetes; a female foreteller or an inspired woman.

[named] Anna,
Ἅννα (Hanna)
Noun - Nominative Feminine Singular
Strong's 451: Anna, a prophetess, who visited the infant Jesus. Of Hebrew origin; Anna, an Israelitess.

[the] daughter
θυγάτηρ (thygatēr)
Noun - Nominative Feminine Singular
Strong's 2364: Apparently a primary word; a female child, or descendant.

of Phanuel,
Φανουήλ (Phanouēl)
Noun - Genitive Masculine Singular
Strong's 5323: Phanuel, father of Anna the prophetess. Of Hebrew origin; Phanuel, an Israelite.

of
ἐκ (ek)
Preposition
Strong's 1537: From out, out from among, from, suggesting from the interior outwards. A primary preposition denoting origin, from, out.

[the] tribe
φυλῆς (phylēs)
Noun - Genitive Feminine Singular
Strong's 5443: A tribe or race of people. From phuo; an offshoot, i.e. Race or clan.

of Asher,
Ἀσήρ (Asēr)
Noun - Genitive Masculine Singular
Strong's 768: Asher, one of the sons of Jacob, and founder of one of the Twelve Tribes. Of Hebrew origin; Aser, an Israelite tribe.

[who]
αὕτη (hautē)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Nominative Feminine Singular
Strong's 3778: This; he, she, it.

was well along
προβεβηκυῖα (probebēkuia)
Verb - Perfect Participle Active - Nominative Feminine Singular
Strong's 4260: To go forward, advance. From pro and the base of basis; to walk forward, i.e. Advance.

in
ἐν (en)
Preposition
Strong's 1722: In, on, among. A primary preposition denoting position, and instrumentality, i.e. A relation of rest; 'in, ' at, on, by, etc.

years.
ἡμέραις (hēmerais)
Noun - Dative Feminine Plural
Strong's 2250: A day, the period from sunrise to sunset.

She had been married
ζήσασα (zēsasa)
Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Nominative Feminine Singular
Strong's 2198: To live, be alive. A primary verb; to live.

for seven
ἑπτὰ (hepta)
Adjective - Accusative Neuter Plural
Strong's 2033: Seven. A primary number; seven.

years,
ἔτη (etē)
Noun - Accusative Neuter Plural
Strong's 2094: A year. Apparently a primary word; a year.


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