{"id":3538,"date":"2015-07-20T08:47:26","date_gmt":"2015-07-20T13:47:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/christiancrier\/?p=3538"},"modified":"2015-07-20T08:47:26","modified_gmt":"2015-07-20T13:47:26","slug":"who-was-anna-in-the-bible-a-character-study","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/christiancrier\/2015\/07\/20\/who-was-anna-in-the-bible-a-character-study\/","title":{"rendered":"Who Was Anna In The Bible? A Character Study"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Who was Anna in the Bible and more specifically, Anna in the New Testament?<\/p>\n

Anna\u2019s Name Meaning<\/h2>\n

Anna was a prophetess and is mentioned very early in the New Testament and is referred to just after Jesus\u2019 birth. Anna\u2019s name is Hebrew of origin and her name means \u201cgracious\u201d or \u201cmerciful,\u201d otherwise there is very little known about her and all we can know is what we will find in Scriptures, in particular in Luke chapter two.<\/p>\n

Anna\u2019s Background<\/h2>\n

We read the first encounter with Anna in Luke 2:36 where it says \u201cAnd there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin<\/span>.\u201d Once thing we know for sure about Anna is that she was an Israelite since she is said to be \u201cof the tribe of Asher.\u201d The interesting thing is the tribe to which Anna belonged was named Asher which means \u201cblessed.\u201d She was the daughter of Phanuel which is from the Hebrew \u201cPhanou\u0113l\u201d which means \u201cbefore the face of God\u201d and she would literally be before the face of God in seeing Jesus Christ as a babe. This woman was apparently like Simeon, who was also \u201cwell advanced in years\u201d and it was written that \u201cshe was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day.\u201d This woman was most certainly a very godly woman who fasted and prayed night and day in her worshiping of God in the temple. The literal Greek says that she was \u201ca widow for eighty-four years\u201d indicating that she was widowed at the time she saw Christ as a babe and probably been one for a long time.<\/p>\n

\"And-there-was-a\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Anna\u2019s Prophecy<\/h2>\n

Anna also apparently had been awaiting the coming of the Lord\u2019s anointed like Simeon for Luke records \u201cAnd coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem<\/span>\u201d (Luke 2:38). That \u201cvery hour\u201d seems to point back to Jesus\u2019 parents coming out of the temple with the Lord and when she had seen the Lord\u2019s anointed, \u201cshe began to give thanks to God<\/span>\u201d for the long wait was over. Since Anna was a prophetess (Luke 2:36) she prophecies about \u201call who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem<\/span>\u201d had now came in the form of the Redeemer in Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/h2>\n

We don\u2019t know a lot more about Anna than that which was given in these few short verses but we know that, like Simeon, she had been waiting a very long time for the Redeemer of Israel, or as she called Him, the redeemer of Jerusalem and that is why she began to give thanks to God and to speak of Christ to all who were also apparently waiting for Him. This indicates that there were others too, besides her and Simeon, who were waiting for the prophecies Messiah to come and come He did and He was not only the Redeemer of Jerusalem, but of all who would repent and trust in Him.<\/p>\n

Article by Jack Wellman<\/h4>\n

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know <\/a>whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer\u2019s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus<\/a> or check out his book Blind Chance or Intelligent Design available on Amazon.<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Who was Anna in the Bible and more specifically, Anna in the New Testament? Anna\u2019s Name Meaning Anna was a prophetess and is mentioned very early in the New Testament and is referred to just after Jesus\u2019 birth. Anna\u2019s name is Hebrew of origin and her name means \u201cgracious\u201d or \u201cmerciful,\u201d otherwise there is very […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1485,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[859],"class_list":["post-3538","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bible-answers","tag-anna"],"yoast_head":"\nWho Was Anna In The Bible? A Character Study<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Who was Anna in the Bible and more specifically, Anna in the New Testament? 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