Anna the Prophetess
{{short description|Biblical figure mentioned in the Gospel of Luke}}
{{About||the mother of the Virgin Mary|Saint Anne|the Old Testament person|Hannah (biblical figure)}}
{{Infobox saint
|honorific_prefix = Saint
|name = Anna the Prophetess
|image = Rembrandt Harmensz. van Rijn 085 (cropped).jpg
|caption = The prophetess Anna (1639) by Rembrandt, Kunsthistorisches Museum
|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
| canonized_by = Pre-Congregation
}}
Anna ({{langx|he|חַנָּה}}, Ḥana; {{langx|grc|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 {{bibleref|Luke|2:36–38}} during the presentation of Jesus at the Temple.
New Testament
The passage mentioning Anna is as follows:
{{quotation|Luke 2:36–38 There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then was a widow until she was eighty-four.[*] She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.
:* Footnote: Or then had been a widow for eighty-four years. (New International Version)}}
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.{{cite book|access-date = 2010-01-16|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mQ0MAAAAIAAJ&q=MCcLintock+cyclopedia
|title= Cyclopædia of Biblical, theological, and ecclesiastical literature Vol 1 p.235
|year = 1896|publisher=John McClintock,James Strong}}[http://www.biblegateway.com/resources/dictionaries/dict_meaning.php?source=1&wid=T0000245 Easton's Dictionary]
The Greek text states καὶ αὐτὴ χήρα ὡς ἐτῶν ὀγδοηκοντατεσσάρων, generally translated as "she was a widow of eighty four years".UBS Greek NT The passage is ambiguous: it could mean that she was 84 years old, or that she had been a widow for 84 years.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 ..."Green, Joel B., [https://books.google.com/books?id=wzRVN2S8cVgC&pg=PA151 The Gospel of Luke], Eerdmans, 1997, {{ISBN|0-8028-2315-7}}, p. 151. Some scholars consider the latter to be the more likely option, in which case she would likely have been around 105 years old.Marshall, I. Howard, [https://books.google.com/books?id=rKqiibViFowC&pg=PA123 The Gospel of Luke: A commentary on the Greek text], Eerdmans, 1978, {{ISBN|0-8028-3512-0}}, p. 123.Elliott, J.K., "[https://www.jstor.org/pss/1560649 Anna's Age (Luke 2:36–37)]," Novum Testamentum, Vol. 30, Fasc. 2 (Apr., 1988), pp. 100–102.
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".{{cite web
|access-date = 2007-09-05
|url=http://ocafs.oca.org/FeastSaintsViewer.asp?FSM=2&FSD=3
|title=Afterfeast of the Meeting of our Lord in the Temple
|publisher=Orthodox Church of America| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070930023608/http://ocafs.oca.org/FeastSaintsViewer.asp?FSM=2&FSD=3| archive-date= 30 September 2007 | url-status= live}} Along with Simeon, the prophetess Anna is commemorated on February 3 in the Byzantine rite of the Catholic Church.February 3 is the feast day of the elder Simeon and the prophetess Anna [http://www.metropolitancantorinstitute.org/liturgy/Meeting.html Byzantine Catholic Archeparchy of Pittsburgh])
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.{{cite web
|access-date = 2007-09-05
|url=http://ocafs.oca.org/FeastSaintsViewer.asp?FSID=100407
|title=The Meeting of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in the Temple
|publisher=Orthodox Church of America| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070930030746/http://ocafs.oca.org/FeastSaintsViewer.asp?FSID=100407| archive-date= 30 September 2007 | url-status= live}}
References
{{reflist|30em}}
External links
{{Commons category|Anna the Prophetess}}
- {{cite Q|Q115749720)|editor1=Henry Gardiner Adams}}
- {{CathEncy|wstitle=Anna}}
{{New Testament people|prophets}}
{{Catholic saints}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:1st-century BC Christian saints
Category:People in the canonical gospels
Category:Prophets of the New Testament
Category:Christian saints from the New Testament