Regarding Anna, Luke provides three terse verses that manage to vividly depict her as a woman deserving the honor bestowed on the elderly in the ancient Mediterranean world (v. 36-38). She could well serve as the Bible's example of a remarkable woman and mother. The appositive prophetess heads her description (Luke 2:36). In this she outranks Simeon, a man praised as righteous and devout (Luke 2:25) who may be a priest because he holds the baby Jesus. Anna is the New Testament's only named female prophetess. Luke gives her father's name, Phanuel, but not her husband's. He mentions her tribe, Asher. As such, she numbers among the few New Testament characters with tribal listings. Others include Jesus, of the house and lineage of David and the tribe of Judah (Luke 2:4; Matthew 1:1-16), Saul of Benjamin (Philippians 3:5) and Barnabas, a Levite (Acts 4:36).
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Luke summarizes Anna's encounter with the bit of family. Unlike Simeon, her direct speech is narrated—yet it is powerful. While Simeon speaks of the larger and later context of the child to the Gentiles and Israel (vv. 30-32), Anna evangelizes immediately and selectively—to those "looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem" (v. 38). She and Simeon join others in Luke's gospel in recognizing this child's great significance and wide import: the angel Gabriel (1:31-33), Elizabeth and John (1:42-45), Zechariah (1:76-79), and the Bethlehem shepherds who also evangelize (2:11-12, 20).
As a prophetess, Anna receives insight into things that typically remain hidden to ordinary people; she recognizes this child and tells of his significance to selected people in Jerusalem. Her actions affirm Amos 3:7: "Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing without revealing his plans to his servants the prophets."
Luke dwells on Anna's advanced age with ambiguity. Let us agree with the text: she is ancient! Luke tells us she was married for seven years, then widowed. Her widowhood has lasted 84 years or 84 years old when she crosses the Biblical stage (Vv. 36-37). If the former, she could well be 105 years old, the same age as the apocryphal figure Judith when she died (Judith 16:28). Some scholars figure it this way: Anna married at age 14, a typical marriage age; however, she was widowed at age 21 and then met the young family 84 years later at age 105.
I tend to see her as 105 because it is in line with the miracles and unusual occurrences already surrounding the Birth Narrative, including the advanced age of Zechariah and Elizabeth when John was conceived (Luke 1:7, 13, 18, 57), and the Holy Spirit's action of overshadowing Mary, who was able to conceive without intercourse (Luke 1:31-35). My point is this: age 105 is not out of line with Luke's narrative replete so far with angelic visitations and miracles—especially when Luke fills in with more details about Anna. In Deuteronomy, Moses prophesies that for the tribe of Asher, Anna's tribe, "your strength will equal your days" (Deuteronomy 33:25). Indeed Anna's life shows evidence of that.
Luke's description of her lifestyle may be seen as eccentric today and quite likely was considered so at the time. However, her lifestyle invigorates her, for she is mobile, articulate, alert, spiritually savvy, and valuable. She worships night and day, fasting and praying. She is a workaholic, available 24/7. She never leaves the Temple (v. 37).
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Who was the first to truly recognize Jesus as the Messiah and understand the implications? The article "Mary, Simeon or Anna: Whom First Recognized Jesus as Messiah?" Ben Witherington III takes a close look at the account given in Luke and sheds some light on what the Biblical narrative says about who was the first to recognize Jesus as the Messiah.
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Luke indicates that her worship, prayer, and fasting habits represent a routine, probably one of decades. She resides within the Temple or on its premises. A precedent in earlier centuries could have been the presence of Levite musicians and heads of families "who stayed in the temple rooms and were exempt from other duties because they were responsible for the work day and night" (1 Chronicles 9:33). So perhaps this behavior was not so unusual during the first century because of the complete time work of worship the Levites undertook.
Anna, this worship workaholic, sets her hours, schedule, route, and routine. Arguably she listens to God and prays as directed. Others recognize her as a prophetess. The prayer work indeed characterizes a prophet, for God told Abimelech that Abraham was "a prophet and he will pray for you" (Gen. 20:7). Anna knows fasting brings results. Biblical precedents include Esther's three-day fast before courageously approaching Xerxes (Est. 4:15-16) and the abstinence of Daniel and his three friends regarding the delicacies of King Nebuchadnezzar's table (Dan. 1:12).
Let us consider Luke's textual silences. Luke omits mention of her family; perhaps she had outlived her children. However, if she has living family members? Do they share her devotion to constant worship? What about her finances? Is she independently wealthy, or do others provide her food? What did she look like? These questions remain unanswered, for they do not contribute toward Luke's themes.
The Biblical text, however, contains clues regarding her appearance and character. Her lifestyle of fasting may indicate thinness; her ability to walk around the Temple indicates her fitness and that her eyesight and hearing are intact; her designation as a prophetess indicates her spiritual acuity; her talk of the child to those interested in the redemption of Jerusalem indicates her deep connection with a like-minded community.
With this in mind, Anna shows one aging model in the Biblical text. Luke presents her positively as a woman without the bitterness that may come with age and as one full of hope. As she moves throughout the Temple, she undoubtedly seeks to do good to those she encounters. Luke's description shows her as well-adjusted, engaged in Israel's life, and valuable to the Lord. She may well have become the model for the righteous church widows Paul describes in 1 Timothy 5:5. Arguably the best representatives of the Old Covenant—Zechariah, Elizabeth, Simeon, and worship workaholic Anna—all elderly, all ably serve as transitions to the New Covenant.
