Anna the Prophetess

The elderly prophetess who, after 84 years of widowhood spent in temple worship and fasting, recognized the infant Jesus as the long-awaited Messiah. Anna represents faithful endurance, prophetic insight, and the expectant remnant of Israel who waited for redemption. Her brief appearance in Luke’s Gospel—just three verses—captures a lifetime of devotion rewarded with the privilege of witnessing God’s salvation and proclaiming it to all who hoped for Jerusalem’s deliverance.

Biblical Account (Luke 2:36-38)

The Presentation at the Temple

Context:

• Luke 2:22-24: Mary and Joseph brought infant Jesus to Jerusalem
• 40 days after birth (Leviticus 12)
• Purification rites, presenting firstborn son
• Offering: Two doves (poverty offering)

Simeon’s Prophecy First:

• Luke 2:25-35: Simeon took Jesus, prophesied
• “Lord’s salvation,” “light for Gentiles,” “glory of Israel”
• To Mary: “Sword will pierce your soul”
• Male prophetic voice

Anna’s Appearance:

• Luke 2:36: “There was also a prophet, Anna”
• Second witness (Deuteronomy 19:15: Two witnesses)
• Female prophetic voice
• Complements Simeon’s testimony

Personal Details (Luke 2:36-37)

Identification:

• “Daughter of Phanuel”
  • Father’s name preserved (unusual for women)
  • Honored lineage
• “Of the tribe of Asher”
  • One of twelve tribes
  • Northern kingdom tribe (ten tribes)
  • Asher mostly lost after Assyrian exile (722 BCE)
  • Anna proves remnant remained faithful

Age and Widowhood:

• “Very old”
• “Lived with her husband seven years after her marriage”
  • Married young (typical: 12-14 years old)
  • Widowed after ~7 years (age ~20)
• “And then was a widow until she was eighty-four”
  • Either: 84 years old total
  • Or: Widowed for 84 years (making her ~104-105)
  • Most translations favor: Widowed for 84 years
  • Remarkably long life and widowhood

Temple Devotion:

• Luke 2:37: “Never left the temple”
  • Not literally (had to eat, sleep)
  • But constantly present
  • Temple complex had rooms, courts
  • Possibly lived in temple precincts
• “Worshiped night and day”
  • Continuous devotion
  • Prayer and worship primary activity
• “Fasting and praying”
  • Regular fasting
  • Intercession
  • Waiting for Messiah

Anna’s Response to Jesus (Luke 2:38)

Immediate Recognition:

• “Coming up to them at that very moment”
  • Precisely timed arrival
  • Divine providence
  • Followed Simeon’s prophecy

Thanksgiving:

• “Gave thanks to God”
  • Gratitude for seeing Messiah
  • Lifetime of waiting fulfilled
  • Joy in answered prayer

Proclamation:

• “Spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem”
  • Prophetic proclamation
  • Testified widely
  • Specifically to expectant faithful
  • First evangelist of Christ
  • Woman’s voice announcing Messiah

Audience:

• “All who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem”
  • Remnant of faithful Israelites
  • Those awaiting Messiah
  • Hope for national deliverance
  • Anna knew where to find them (temple community)

Historical and Cultural Context

Women Prophets in Israel

Biblical Precedent:

• Miriam (Exodus 15:20): Led worship after Red Sea crossing
• Deborah (Judges 4-5): Prophet and judge, led Israel
• Huldah (2 Kings 22:14): Consulted by King Josiah, authenticated Torah scroll
• Isaiah’s wife (Isaiah 8:3): Called “the prophetess”

Prophecy in Second Temple Period:

• Prophetic activity decreased after Malachi (c. 430 BCE)
• “Silent years” (400 years between testaments)
• Anna’s prophecy signals renewal
• Luke emphasizes prophetic voices at Jesus’s birth (Elizabeth, Mary, Zechariah, Simeon, Anna)

Female Prophets Recognized:

• Not common but accepted
• Spiritual authority acknowledged
• Anna’s testimony valued equally with Simeon’s

Widowhood in Jewish Society

Vulnerable Status:

• No husband to provide or protect
• Dependent on family, charity
• Deuteronomy 10:18: God defends widows
• James 1:27: “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows”

Widow’s Options:

1. Return to father’s house (Ruth 1:8)
2. Levirate marriage (marry brother-in-law)
3. Remarry freely
4. Remain widow, devoted to God (1 Timothy 5:5)

Anna’s Choice:

• Chose lifelong widowhood
• Devoted life to God
• No remarriage (unusual for young widow)
• Temple service full-time

Honored Widows:

• 1 Timothy 5:3-10: Qualifications for enrolled widows
  • Over 60 years old
  • Faithful to husband
  • Known for good deeds
  • Raised children
  • Hospitable
  • Washed saints’ feet
  • Helped those in trouble
  • Devoted to good
• Anna embodied these qualities

Temple Life

Temple Complex:

• Large courts, chambers, porticos
• Court of Women (as far as women could go)
• Anna likely frequented Court of Women
• Prayer, worship, teaching happened there

Daily Rhythms:

• Morning and evening sacrifices
• Prayers at set hours
• Festival gatherings
• Continuous activity

Temple Community:

• Priests, Levites, staff
• Devout worshipers
• Some lived nearby or in temple precincts
• Anna part of this community
• Knew other faithful expectants

Fasting and Prayer:

• Regular Jewish practice
• Monday and Thursday traditional fast days
• Additional personal fasts
• Anna exceeded normal practice
• “Night and day” suggests extraordinary devotion

The Tribe of Asher

Jacob’s Son:

• Genesis 30:13: Asher born to Leah’s maidservant Zilpah
• Name means “happy” or “blessed”
• Jacob’s blessing (Genesis 49:20): “Asher’s food will be rich; he will provide delicacies fit for a king”

Tribal Territory:

• Northern coastal region
• Modern-day northern Israel/southern Lebanon
• Fertile, prosperous land
• Bordering Phoenicia

Assyrian Exile (722 BCE):

• Northern kingdom conquered
• Ten tribes deported, scattered
• Became “lost tribes”
• Most assimilated

Asher’s Remnant:

• Some fled south to Judah before exile
• Hezekiah’s Passover (2 Chronicles 30:11): “Some from Asher… humbled themselves and went to Jerusalem”
• Anna proves Asher’s line survived
• Faithful remnant maintained tribal identity

Significance:

• Anna from “lost” tribe testifying to Messiah
• All Israel represented (Simeon from Judah, Anna from Asher)
• Northern and southern kingdoms united in witness
• Messiah for all twelve tribes

Theological Significance

Faithful Remnant

Isaiah’s Theology:

• Isaiah 10:20-22: “A remnant will return”
• Not all Israel faithful, but some
• Small group preserved God’s promises

Anna Embodied:

• Part of faithful waiting remnant
• Never stopped hoping
• Endured through silent centuries
• Reward: Saw Messiah

New Testament Continuity:

• Romans 11:5: “Remnant chosen by grace”
• Anna exemplifies this remnant

Female Prophetic Voice

Mary’s Magnificat (Luke 1:46-55):

• Prophetic song of reversal
• God lifts up lowly

Elizabeth’s Prophecy (Luke 1:41-45):

• Filled with Holy Spirit
• Blessed Mary and Jesus

Anna’s Proclamation (Luke 2:38):

• Third female prophetic voice in Luke 1-2
• Women testifying to God’s action
• Valued equally with male voices (Zechariah, Simeon)

Luke’s Emphasis:

• Women prominent in Gospel
• Disciples, supporters, witnesses
• Anna begins this pattern

Witness to Redemption

Two-Witness Requirement:

• Deuteronomy 19:15: Truth established by two or three witnesses
• Simeon and Anna both testify
• Male and female
• Different tribes
• Independent confirmation

Content of Testimony:

• Simeon: Salvation, light to Gentiles, glory of Israel
• Anna: Redemption of Jerusalem
• Complementary messages
• Jesus as Savior and Redeemer

Audience:

• Simeon: Mary and Joseph (and Luke’s readers)
• Anna: “All who were looking forward to redemption”
• Anna’s public proclamation
• First evangelist

Waiting and Fulfillment

Long Wait:

• 84 years of widowhood
• Decades of daily temple worship
• Lifetime hoping for Messiah
• Never lost faith

Reward:

• Saw infant Jesus
• Recognized Messiah immediately
• Joy of answered prayer
• Death could come peacefully (like Simeon)

Perseverance:

• Hebrews 11:13-16: Patriarchs died in faith, not receiving promises
• Anna received hers
• Model of patient waiting

Eschatological Hope:

• Anna looked for “redemption of Jerusalem”
• Political, spiritual deliverance expected
• Messianic age
• Jesus brought spiritual redemption (not political as expected)

Anna’s Character and Virtues

Devotion

Single-Minded Focus:

• “Never left the temple”
• Life centered on God
• Worship primary activity
• Everything else secondary

Constancy:

• “Night and day”
• Not occasional but continual
• Decades of faithful presence
• Unwavering commitment

Patience

84 Years:

• Widowed young (~20 years old)
• Waited 84 years
• Now ~104 years old
• Never gave up

Daily Faithfulness:

• Not dramatic once, but faithful daily
• Consistent devotion
• Long obedience in same direction

Spiritual Discernment

Recognized Messiah:

• Infant in poor family
• No external signs of royalty
• Anna’s spiritual eyes saw truth
• Prophetic insight

Timing:

• “At that very moment”
• Divine guidance led her
• Right place, right time
• Sensitivity to Holy Spirit

Joy and Gratitude

Gave Thanks:

• Not complaining about long wait
• Grateful for fulfillment
• Praise, not entitlement

Shared Joy:

• Told others immediately
• Couldn’t keep silent
• Evangelistic impulse
• Worship overflowed to witness

Fasting and Prayer

Spiritual Disciplines:

• Regular fasting weakens flesh, strengthens spirit
• Prayer maintains communion with God
• Anna’s lifestyle, not occasional practice

Intercession:

• Likely prayed for Israel’s redemption
• Prayers answered in Jesus
• Lifetime of intercession

Later Tradition and Interpretation

Patristic Interpretation

Church Fathers:

• Saw Anna as model of consecrated widows
• Praised her temple devotion
• Example of patience and hope
• Female counterpart to Simeon

Widowhood Order:

• Early church enrolled widows for service (1 Timothy 5)
• Anna seen as prototype
• Devoted to prayer and good works
• Supported by community

Medieval Devotion

Veneration:

• Recognized as saint
• Feast day (some traditions): September 1 or with Simeon (February 2)
• Patroness of widows

Art:

• Depicted in Presentation scenes
• Elderly woman in temple
• Sometimes holding scroll (prophecy)
• With Simeon at Jesus’s presentation

Protestant Interpretation

Example of Faith:

• Patient waiting on God
• Devotional life model
• Prophetic gift recognized
• Female voice valued

Simplicity:

• Brief account honored
• No elaborate legends
• Scripture sufficient

Eastern Orthodox

Holy Prophetess Anna:

• Commemorated with Simeon
• Icon tradition: Presentation of Jesus
• Example of ascetic devotion

Typology:

• Old covenant giving way to new
• Anna’s long wait ending
• Israel’s hope fulfilled

Homiletical and Devotional Themes

Waiting on God

Application:

• God’s timing not ours
• Faithfulness during delay
• Hope deferred not denied
• Perseverance rewarded

Anna’s Example:

• 84 years faithful
• Never stopped hoping
• Daily commitment despite delay

Devoted Widowhood

1 Timothy 5:5:

• “Widow who is really in need and left all alone puts her hope in God and continues night and day to pray and to ask God for help”
• Anna perfectly fulfilled this

Application:

• Widowhood not end but opportunity
• Service to God in every season
• Loneliness filled with God’s presence

Prophetic Proclamation

First Evangelist:

• Woman first to proclaim Christ publicly
• Went to those looking for redemption
• Targeted evangelism

Application:

• Share good news
• Testify to what God has shown
• Seek those ready to hear

Spiritual Discernment

Recognizing Jesus:

• Not obvious from appearance
• Spiritual sight needed
• Anna’s decades of prayer prepared her

Application:

• Seek God to recognize his work
• Spiritual disciplines sharpen discernment
• See what others miss

Reward of Faithfulness

Psalm 37:7:

• “Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him”

Anna’s Reward:

• Lifetime of waiting ended
• Saw Messiah
• Joy and fulfillment

Application:

• Faithfulness never wasted
• God honors patient devotion
• Best rewards sometimes at end

Significance

Anna’s story is brief—three verses—but profound. An elderly widow who chose God over remarriage, temple over home, prayer over comfort, hope over despair. For 84 years she waited, worshiped, fasted, prayed. And then, when she was over 100 years old, God rewarded her faithfulness.

She saw an infant held by a poor couple, and her prophetic eyes recognized the Redeemer. Where others saw a baby, Anna saw redemption. Where others saw peasants, she saw the holy family. After a lifetime of waiting, she witnessed what prophets and kings had longed to see.

And she couldn’t keep silent. An elderly woman in the temple courts, proclaiming to all who would listen: He’s here! The Messiah has come! Redemption has arrived! Her prophetic voice joined Simeon’s, confirming God’s salvation.

Anna represents all who wait faithfully—through grief, through loss, through decades of apparent silence from God, through the long night before dawn. She embodies patient hope that refuses to surrender, devotion that doesn’t waver, and faith that endures until the promise is fulfilled.

Her tribal affiliation matters too: Asher, supposedly lost, proves faithful. The northern kingdom, scattered and forgotten, represented in an elderly woman testifying to Messiah. Anna declares that God’s promises include all Israel, north and south, lost and found, old and young.

Luke places her testimony alongside Simeon’s—two prophetic voices, male and female, from different tribes, both recognizing Jesus. Together they represent the faithful remnant, Israel’s hope, the expectant ones who waited for consolation and redemption.

When modern believers feel forgotten, when prayers seem unanswered, when waiting stretches into decades, Anna whispers across the centuries: Keep watching. Keep praying. Keep hoping. God’s promises never fail. Your faithfulness will be rewarded. Even if you wait 84 years, when redemption comes, it’s worth it all.

Anna’s final recorded act is thanksgiving and proclamation. After a century of life, 84 years of widowhood, decades of temple worship, her response to seeing Jesus is simple: Thank God and tell everyone.

That’s the proper response to encountering Christ—gratitude to God and testimony to others. Anna got it right. At 104 years old, she became the first person to publicly proclaim Jesus as the Redeemer. Not a priest, not a scholar, not a prominent person—but a devoted widow who never stopped hoping.

“Blessed are your eyes because they see,” Jesus would later say (Matthew 13:16). Anna’s eyes saw what generations longed to witness. Her faithful waiting ended in joyful wonder. Her long life culminated in brief glory. Three verses in Luke, but a lifetime of faithful devotion.

And somewhere in the temple courts, an old woman who never stopped praying finally stopped waiting, gave thanks to God, and told everyone who would listen: He’s here.