Anna, the prophetess, is mentioned in the Bible three times and they’re all within the context of Jesus’ birth.
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; 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. 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.”
The tribe of Aser (or Asher) came from the line of Jacob, and was a son of Zilpah, the maidservant for Leah – Genesis 30:13. The Hebrew transliteration for Asher means ‘happy’.
The name of Anna’s father, Phanuel, when translated means, ‘face of God’. Whether his name was a play on words for his daughter’s future involvement as a prophetess, is left solely up to the reader, but it does make sense and goes along with the Lord’s M.O. (more…)
Today’s post comes courtesy of an article I saw on LDS Living. I’m going to post a few highlights from the article here, and then ask questions as we go along. One of the reasons we’re highlighting this article is to provide an example of what the average Mormon thinks of non-Mormon events.
