Anna the prophetess is one of the most distinctive and brief biblical character-portraits in the NT—an elderly widow of the tribe of Asher who, with Simeon, recognized the infant Christ at His presentation in the temple and gave thanks. The full text of her introduction in Luke 2:36-38: 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; 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. 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. Several structural features mark the doctrine. First, her identification. Luke gives Anna a remarkable amount of detail for such a brief appearance: her name, her father’s name (Phanuel), her tribe (Asher—one of the so-called lost tribes, demonstrating that some of the northern-kingdom Israelites had been preserved by the LORD), her marital history (married at virginity, widowed after seven years), her age (84 years a widow plus her seven years of marriage plus the age at which she married—making her over 100 years old). The detail establishes her as a substantial historical figure, not a literary device. Second, her temple-attendance. She departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day—Anna had devoted her widowed life entirely to the worship of God at the temple. The phrase departed not from the temple indicates a near-permanent residence in the temple courts; fastings and prayers night and day indicates the discipline of her devoted worship. She is the OT-saint at its purest, having organized her entire widowed life around the LORD’s house and His worship. Third, the prophetic gift. Anna is identified as a prophetess—one of a small handful of OT-and-NT female prophets (Miriam, Deborah, Huldah, Isaiah’s wife in Isa 8:3, Anna, the four daughters of Philip in Acts 21:9). The prophetic gift is genuine and explicit; she does not derive her ministry from any male authority but from the LORD’s direct gift. Fourth, the recognition of Christ. At the very moment of Christ’s presentation in the temple (His parents bringing Him in to perform the rites prescribed by the law), Anna coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord. The Spirit moved her to the precise place at the precise time; she recognized the infant Christ; she gave thanks. The detail likewise connects her thanksgiving with Simeon’s preceding Nunc Dimittis (Luke 2:29-32); the two elderly saints together recognized and welcomed the Messiah in the temple. Fifth, her ministry of witness. And spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem. The substantive ministry of her late life: speaking of the Christ-child to the faithful remnant who, like her, were waiting for the consummate redemption of Israel. The Anna-portrait is therefore the picture of the patient, devoted, temple-attending, fasting-and-praying OT saint, whose long discipline of waiting on the LORD was rewarded with the recognition of the Messiah and the privilege of being among the first to bear witness to His coming.