See also: Anna the Prophetess · Anna the Prophetess
Definition · Webster 1828 · Scriptures · Corruption · Roots · Usage · Related
📖 Biblical Definition
Anna was a prophetess of great age who saw and gave thanks for the infant Christ when He was brought to the temple, one of the two devout elders (with Simeon) who recognized the Messiah at His presentation. Luke records that she was "of a great age, and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity; and she was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day" (Luke 2:36-37). When Joseph and Mary brought Jesus to present Him to the Lord, Anna "coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem" (Luke 2:38). For decades she had given herself to worship, fasting, and prayer in the temple, and God honored her long faithfulness with the sight of His salvation in the flesh, and made her a herald of the Redeemer to all who awaited Him. Anna stands in the dictionary as the faithful aged widow who saw the Christ, a witness to the honor God puts upon a long life of worship and prayer, to the spiritual fruitfulness of godly widowhood, and to the joy of recognizing and proclaiming the Redeemer when He comes.
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
An aged widow and prophetess (Luke 2:36-38) who served God night and day in the temple with fasting and prayer, and who saw the infant Christ at His presentation and spoke of Him to all who awaited redemption.
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ANNA THE PROPHETESS, proper noun. "Grace"; an aged widow and prophetess.
Widowed after seven years of marriage; about eighty-four years old (Luke 2:36-37).
Departed not from the temple, serving God with fasting and prayer night and day.
Saw the infant Christ at His presentation in the temple.
Spoke of Him to all who looked for redemption in Jerusalem (Luke 2:38).
📖 Key Scripture
Luke 2:36 — "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;"
Luke 2:37 — "And she was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day."
Luke 2:38 — "And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem."
1 Tim 5:5 — "Now she that is a widow indeed, and desolate, trusteth in God, and continueth in supplications and prayers night and day."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
Anna honors the recovery of the dignity and fruitfulness of godly widowhood and aged saints, and of a life of worship and prayer, against a culture that despises the old and discounts the hidden ministry of prayer.
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Age-despised correction. A youth-obsessed culture discounts the aged as past usefulness. Anna, at eighty-four, was at the height of her usefulness, given the honor of seeing and proclaiming the Christ after a lifetime of worship. The dictionary holds the dignity of aged saints: those who have served God long are not cast aside but honored, and the hoary head found in the way of righteousness is a crown of glory (Prov 16:31); the old who walk with God are among His most fruitful servants.
This entry faces little postmodern redefinition. The principle to recover is the fruitfulness of a life of worship and prayer. Anna departed not from the temple, serving God night and day, the very picture of the widow indeed who trusts in God and continues in supplications (1 Tim 5:5). The dictionary commends this hidden ministry: the prayers and worship of faithful saints, especially godly widows, are a great and often unseen labor, dear to God, and Anna's long vigil of prayer was crowned with the sight of the world's Redeemer.
🔗 Greek & Hebrew Roots
An aged widow and prophetess (Luke 2:36-38) who served God in the temple with fasting and prayer, and who saw the infant Christ and spoke of Him to all who awaited redemption.
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Greek Hanna, "grace"; an aged widow and prophetess
Widowed after seven years; about eighty-four years old (Luke 2:36-37)
Departed not from the temple, serving God night and day
Saw the infant Christ at His presentation in the temple
Spoke of Him to all who looked for redemption in Jerusalem (Luke 2:38)
Usage
"Anna the prophetess — the aged widow who saw the infant Christ in the temple (Luke 2:36-38)."
"Served God with fastings and prayers night and day (Luke 2:37) — Anna's long devotion."
"Anna witnesses to the fruitfulness of godly widowhood and a life of worship and prayer."