Anna the Prophetess explained

Anna the Prophetess
Titles:	Prophetess
Birth Date:	1st century BC
Death Date:	1st century
Venerated In:	Catholic Church Roman Rite Eastern Orthodox Church Oriental Orthodox Church Eastern Catholic Churches
Feast Day:	3 February 1 September and 16 February on some calendars

Anna (Hebrew: חַנָּה, Ḥana; Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: Ἄννα, Ánna), distinguished as Anna the Prophetess, is a woman mentioned in the Gospel of Luke. According to that Gospel, she was an elderly woman of the Tribe of Asher who prophesied about Jesus at the Temple of Jerusalem. She appears in Luke 2:36–38 during the presentation of Jesus at the Temple.

New Testament

The passage mentioning Anna is as follows:

From these three verses in Luke, the following is known of Anna:

• She was a prophetess.
• She was a daughter of Phanuel.
• She was a member of the tribe of Asher.
• She was widowed after seven years of marriage (her husband is not named).
• She was a devout Asherite Hebrew who regularly practiced prayer and fasting.

Luke describes Anna as "very old". Many Bibles and older commentaries interpret the New Testament text to state that she was 84 years old.^{[1] [2]}

The Greek text states καὶ αὐτὴ χήρα ὡς ἐτῶν ὀγδοηκοντατεσσάρων, generally translated as "she was a widow of eighty four years".^[3] The passage is ambiguous: it could mean that she was 84 years old, or that she had been a widow for 84 years.^{[4] [5]} Some scholars consider the latter to be the more likely option.^[6] On this option, she could not have married younger than about age 14, and so she would have been at least 14 + 7 + 84 = 105 years old.^[7]

Church traditions and veneration

The Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox Church commemorate Anna as a saint, Anna the Prophetess. The Eastern Orthodox Church considers Anna and Simeon the God-Receiver as the last prophets of Old Testament and observes their feast on February 3/February 16 as the synaxis (afterfeast) following the Presentation of Christ, which Orthodox tradition calls "The Meeting of Our Lord and God and Savior, Jesus Christ".^[8] Along with Simeon, the prophetess Anna is commemorated on February 3 in the Byzantine rite of the Catholic Church.^[9]

She is also depicted in icons of the Presentation of Christ, together with the Holy Child and the Virgin Mary, Joseph and Simeon the God-Receiver. Orthodox tradition considers that Christ met his people, Israel, in the persons of Simeon and Anna.^[10]

External links

• Henry Gardiner Adams.

Notes and References

1. Book: 2010-01-16. Cyclopædia of Biblical, theological, and ecclesiastical literature Vol 1 p.235. 1896. John McClintock,James Strong.
2. http://www.biblegateway.com/resources/dictionaries/dict_meaning.php?source=1&wid=T0000245 Easton's Dictionary
3. UBS Greek NT
4. Twelve Extraordinary Women: How God Shaped Women of the Bible, and ... – Page 136 John MacArthur – 2008 "The Greek text is ambiguous as to her exact age. (“This woman was a widow of about eighty-four years.”) It might mean literally that she had been a widow for eighty-four years. Assuming she married very young (remember, thirteen was a ..."
5. [Joel B. Green|Green, Joel B.]
6. [I. Howard Marshall|Marshall, I. Howard]
7. Elliott, J.K., "Anna's Age (Luke 2:36–37)," Novum Testamentum, Vol. 30, Fasc. 2 (Apr., 1988), pp. 100–102.
8. Web site: 2007-09-05. Afterfeast of the Meeting of our Lord in the Temple. Orthodox Church of America. https://web.archive.org/web/20070930023608/http://ocafs.oca.org/FeastSaintsViewer.asp?FSM=2&FSD=3. 30 September 2007 . live.
9. February 3 is the feast day of the elder Simeon and the prophetess Anna Byzantine Catholic Archeparchy of Pittsburgh)
10. Web site: 2007-09-05. The Meeting of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in the Temple. Orthodox Church of America. https://web.archive.org/web/20070930030746/http://ocafs.oca.org/FeastSaintsViewer.asp?FSID=100407. 30 September 2007 . live.