Anna the Prophetess

Anna appears in the Gospel of Luke as the daughter of Phanuel of the tribe of Asher. In the narrative she is present in the Jerusalem Temple at the time Mary and Joseph bring the infant Jesus to be presented; coming forward at that moment, she gives thanks to God and speaks about the child to those awaiting Jerusalem's redemption. Church tradition (Eastern Orthodox and Catholic) treats her as a saint and as, with Simeon, one of the final prophetic witnesses who meet Israel's promised salvation in Christ.

Luke describes Anna as 'very old' and as a widow. The Greek phrase χήρα ὡς ἐτῶν ὀγδοηκοντατεσσάρων is rendered in many translations as 'a widow of eighty-four years'; the passage is ambiguous and has been read as meaning she was eighty-four years old or had been a widow for eighty-four years (which would imply a much greater age). No other physical details (clothing, stature, facial features) are provided in the cited sources; the accounts emphasize her continual presence in the Temple and ascetic life rather than bodily description.

The sources attribute to Anna prophetic recognition grounded in revelation from God rather than innate magical powers. Her continual worship—'never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying'—is presented as the devotional context for her gift: she gives thanks and 'spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.' Later homiletic and liturgical commentary frames her speech as authoritative prophetic witness and as an exemplar of devout waiting receptive to revelation.