Anna
ANNA
A daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher, early married, but left a widow after seven years, and thenceforth devoted to the service of God. She was constant in attendance at the morning and evening sacrifices at the temple; and there, at the age of eighty- four years, was blessed with a sight of the infant Savior, and inspired to announce the coming of the promised Messiah to many who longed to see him, Luk 2:36-38 .
Fuente: American Tract Society Bible Dictionary
Anna
(Hebrew: grace)
(1) The pious and patient mother of Samuel. Vexed at the affronts cast at her, long sterility, she made a vow, that should God put an end to her barrenness, she would consecrate her son to God (I Kings 1). Samuel’s birth was the fruit of her prayers and tears. She brought Samuel to Heli, the high priest, and consecrated him to God. In the joy of seeing her hopes realized, Anna chanted the sublime Canticle of Anna (1 Kings 2). She is regarded as an image of the Church: persecuted in the beginning, and later fruitful and glorious.
(2) Wife of Tobias, who was taken with him into captivity by Salmanasar (Tobit 1).
(3) A prophetess, daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser; the widow in the Temple who recognized Jesus, when presented to the Lord, as the Redeemer (Luke 2).
Fuente: New Catholic Dictionary
Anna
(Sept. Anna; some versions have Hannah which is nearer to the original Hebrew. The Hebrew word means “graciousness”, from the root word Hannan, “to be gracious.”)
There are four women named “Anna” in Sacred Scripture.
(1) Anna (Samuel i-ii, 21), mother of Samuel, was one of the two wives of Elcana, a man of Ramah, a Zuphite of the hill-country of Ephraim. As a true woman of her nation, she felt keenly the reproach of barrenness, all the more so that her rival, Phenenna, more favoured than she, did not fail to remind her of her affliction (Samuel i, 6-7). On one of the family’s pilgrimages to Silo, Anna made a vow that, should God bless her with a son, she would consecrate him to His service as a Nazarite (Samuel i, 9-11). Her prayer was heard, and after weaning her son she brought him to Heli in Silo (Samuel i, 24-28). This generous fulfilment of her vow was amply rewarded (Samuel ii, 21). Anna’s canticle (Samuel ii, 1-10) gives rise to questions similar to those concerning the Magnificat, to which it has some striking resemblances. Though a beautiful psalm, it is found inappropriate on Anna’s lips, having no special reference to her situation, beyond the quite general remark in v. 5b. Unless v. 10b be taken as a prophecy of the rise of the monarchy or of the Messiah, the canticle would be, whatever its more precise date, posterior to the establishment of the monarchy.
(2) Anna, wife of Tobias, was, like her husband, of the tribe of Nephtali (Tob., i, 1-9). Together with her husband and son, also called Tobias, she was taken into captivity to Ninive by Shalmanaser (i, 2, 11). Her role is quite secondary in the narrative. Her rather passionate nature serves to bring out more strongly by contrast the deeply religious character of Tobias (cf. ii, 19-23 and the beautiful prayer which his misunderstanding with his wife brings on the lips of Tobias iii, 1-6). Her sincere and solicitous love for her son is well expressed in v, 23-28; x 1-7; xi, 5 (cf. the remark above).
(3) Anna is carefully described by Luke, ii, 36-38, as a prophetess, daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser. The biographic notes given by Luke regarding the aged prophetess, of whom legend knows that she had had Mary under her tutelage in the Temple, bring out her great sanctity. In spite of her early widowhood, she had never married again, but had devoted her life to the service of God. She answers perfectly the portrait if the model widow of I Tim.,v, 5-9. As she used to spend most of her time in the Temple, her presence at the scene narrated in Luke, ii, 25-35, is easily understood. Hence her praise to God, the subject of which was Jesus, with the burden that He was the longed-for Redeemer.
(4) Anna is also the traditional name of the mother of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
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EDWARD ARBEZ Transcribed by Ann Waterman
The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume ICopyright © 1907 by Robert Appleton CompanyOnline Edition Copyright © 2003 by K. KnightNihil Obstat, March 1, 1907. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., CensorImprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York
Fuente: Catholic Encyclopedia
Anna
(, the Greek form of the name Hannah [q.v.]; it also occurs in the cognate Punic as that of the sister of Dido, Virgil, En. 4, 9), the name of two women. 1. The wife of Tobit, whose history is contained in the apocryphal book that bears his name (Tob 1:9 sq.).
2. An aged widow, daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She had married early, but after seven years her husband died, and during her long widowhood she daily attended the morning and evening services of the temple. Anna was eighty-four years old when the infant Jesus was brought to the temple by his mother, and, entering as Simeon pronounced his thanksgiving, she also broke forth in praise to God fof the fulfillment of his ancient promises (Luk 2:36-37), B.C. 6. See Mayer, De Anna prophetissa vidua (Gryph. 1706).
Anna
was the Accadian name of the god Anu.
Fuente: Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature
Anna
grace, an aged widow, the daughter of Phanuel. She was a “prophetess,” like Miriam, Deborah, and Huldah (2 Chr. 34:22). After seven years of married life her husband died, and during her long widowhood she daily attended the temple services. When she was eighty-four years old, she entered the temple at the moment when the aged Simeon uttered his memorable words of praise and thanks to God that he had fulfilled his ancient promise in sending his Son into the world (Luke 2:36, 37).
Fuente: Easton’s Bible Dictionary
Anna
(Luk 2:36-37). Daughter of Phanuel, of Asher; a widow of 84; a prophetess, i.e. guided by Providence, when the infant Jesus was being presented in the temple, to come in “that instant,” and enabled by the Spirit to discern and to announce to others the Messiah, and to render praises accordingly. After seven years of married life she had given up all other concerns to join the women who devoted themselves to a continual attendance at the temple services “night and day”; “a widow indeed” (1Ti 5:5). One of “God’s own elect, which cry day and night unto Him,” looking for the promised redemption “unto which the twelve tribes, instantly serving God day and night, hope to come” (Act 26:7; contrast Rev 12:10; Luk 18:7; compare Exo 38:8). It is remarkable she is the only one of note mentioned in Scripture of the tribe of Asher, though the name means blessedness. A sample of an aged female’s waiting faith, as Simeon is of an aged man’s.
Fuente: Fausset’s Bible Dictionary
Anna
ANNA (, Heb. ).When His parents brought the infant Jesus to the temple to present Him to the Lord, two aged representatives of the OT Church received Him with songs of praise, Simeon and Anna (Luk 2:25 ff.). Anna was the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher (v. 36), which, though one of the Ten Tribes of the Dispersion, was still represented in Palestine. From it some beautiful women are said to have been chosen as wives for the priests (Edersheim, and Times of Jesus the Messiah, i. p. 200). Anna was a widow 84 years of age (Authorized Version ), or more probably ( Revised Version NT 1881, OT 1885 ) about 105, as 7 years of married life followed by 84 years of widowhood would make her to be. She was a devout and saintly woman, worshipping constantly in the temple, with fastings and supplications, night and day; and, like Deborah Huldah of the OT, she had prophetic gifts. Her desire, like the Psalmists (Psa 27:4), was to dwell always in the house of God, though it is hardly likely that a woman would be allowed literally to dwell within the sacred precincts. Having entered the temple at the same time as Jesus was brought in, she followed up the song of Simeon in similar strains, and spake of the Holy Child to all them that were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem (Luk 2:38). Anna would seem to later times an ideal saint of the cloister, as such stress is laid on her virginity, her long life of widowhood, and her ceaseless devotions. Possibly her name may have had to do with the name Anna, given to the mother of the Virgin Mary, in the Protevangelium of James.
David M. W. Laird.
Fuente: A Dictionary Of Christ And The Gospels
Anna
ANNA (the Greek form of Heb. Hannah, which means grace).The name of an aged prophetess (Luk 2:35-38), one of the godly remnant in Israel who in the dark days which preceded the Messiahs advent were looking for the dayspring from on high and waiting for the consolation of Israel. She was the daughter of Phanuel, and belonged to the ancient tribe of Asher, whose women were celebrated for their beauty, which fitted them for wedding with high priests and kings. She had attained a great age, upwards of a hundred years, since she had been a wife for seven years and a widow for eighty-four (see RV [Note: Revised Version.] ). She bad given herself to a life of devotion, frequenting the Temple and worshipping with fastings and supplications night and day (cf. 1Ti 5:6). At the Presentation of the Infant Messiah (Luk 2:22-24) she entered the sacred court, and, hearing Simeons benediction and prophecy, took up the refrain of praise and talked about the Holy Child to her godly intimates, quickening their hope and preparing a welcome for the Saviour when He should by and by be manifested unto Israel.
David Smith.
Fuente: Hastings’ Dictionary of the Bible
Anna
ana (, Anna (Westcott-Hort, Hanna; see Intro, 408); Hebrew equivalent , hannah, signifying grace 1Sa 1:2):
(1) The wife of Tobit (Tobit 1:9).
(2) A prophetess, daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher, and thus a Galilean, living in Jerusalem at the time of Jesus’ birth (Luk 2:36-38). Of a great age, she must have been considerably over 100 years, having been a widow 84 years after a short married life of seven (see the Revised Version (British and American)). Exceptionally devout and gifted in spirit, she worshipped so constantly with fastings and supplications night and day, that she is said to have departed not from the temple. Some have mistakenly supposed that this signified permanent residence in the temple. The fact that her lineage is recorded indicates the distraction of her family. Tradition says that the tribe of Asher was noted for the beauty and talent of its women, who for these gifts, were qualified for royal and high-priestly marriage. While the tribe of Asher was not among the tribes that returned from the Babylonian exile to Palestine, many of its chief families must have done so as in the case of the prophetess. The period of war and national oppression, through which Anna’s early life was passed, created in her, as in the aged Simeon, an intense longing for the redemption promised through the Messiah. See SIMEON. This hope of national deliverance sustained her through more than four decades of patient waiting. In the birth of Jesus her faith was abundantly rewarded, and she became a grateful and ceaseless witness to all them that were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem, that the day of their spiritual deliverance had come.
Literature
See Edersheim, Life and Times of Jesus, I, 200-201, Gelkie, Life and Words of Christ, I, 133-34.
Fuente: International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
Anna
Anna, 1
Anna, wife of Tobit, whose history is contained in the apocryphal book named after him (Tob 1:9, etc.).
Anna, 2
Anna, an aged widow, daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She had married early, but after seven years her husband died, and during her long widowhood she daily attended the morning and evening services of the Temple. Anna was eighty-four years old when the infant Jesus was brought to the Temple by his mother, and entering as Simeon pronounced his thanksgiving, she also broke forth in praise to God for the fulfillment of his ancient promises (Luk 2:36-37).
Fuente: Popular Cyclopedia Biblical Literature
Anna
[An’na]
A prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of Asher, who gave thanks when the infant Jesus was presented in the temple. Luk 2:36. She was one of the godly who looked for redemption in Israel.
Fuente: Concise Bible Dictionary
Anna
G451
A devout widow.
Luk 2:36-37
Fuente: Nave’s Topical Bible
Anna
Anna (n’nah), grace, a prophetess, daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. Luk 2:36. Her husband having died after she had been married seven years, she devoted herself to the Lord, and was very constant in her attendance on the services of the temple. She did not, however, live in the temple itself. At 84 years of age she listened to the prophetic blessing which Simeon uttered when he held the infant Redeemer in his arms, and joined in it with great fervor.
Fuente: People’s Dictionary of the Bible
Anna
An’na. (grace). A “prophetess” in Jerusalem, at the time of our Lord’s Presentation, in the Temple. Luk 2:36. She was of the tribe of Asher.
Fuente: Smith’s Bible Dictionary
Anna
the daughter of Phanuel, a prophetess and widow, of the tribe of Asher, Luk 2:36-37. She was married early, and had lived only seven years with her husband. Being then disengaged from the ties of marriage, she thought only of pleasing the Lord; and continued without ceasing in the temple, serving God night and day, with fasting and prayer, as the Evangelist expresses it. However, her serving God at the temple night and day, says Dr. Prideaux, is to be understood no otherwise than that she constantly attended the morning and evening sacrifice at the temple; and then with great devotion offered up her prayers to God; the time of morning and evening sacrifice being the most solemn time of prayer among the Jews, and the temple the most solemn place for this devotion. Anna was fourscore years of age when the holy virgin came to present Jesus in the temple; and entering accidentally, while Simeon was pronouncing his thanksgiving, she likewise began to praise God, and to speak of the Messiah to all those who waited for redemption in Jerusalem. We know nothing more either of the life or death of this holy woman.