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Luke 2:36
ESV And 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,
NIV There was also a prophet, Anna, the daughter of Penuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage,
NASB And there was a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years and had lived with her husband for seven years after her marriage,
CSB There was also a prophetess, Anna, a daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was well along in years, having lived with her husband seven years after her marriage,
NLT Anna, a prophet, was also there in the Temple. She was the daughter of Phanuel from the tribe of Asher, and she was very old. Her husband died when they had been married only seven years.
KJV 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;

What does Luke 2:36 mean?

Joseph, Mary, and the infant Jesus have just encountered Simeon, a devout man, while in the temple in Jerusalem (Luke 2:22–35). Simeon was led into the temple by the Holy Spirit, specifically for that meeting with Christ and His family. This verse introduces another person who seems to have been called the same way: a woman named Anna.

Scripture gives no details about Anna other than what's described in these verses. Depending on how one translates this passage, she is either eighty-four years old, or has lived eighty-four years since the death of her husband (Luke 2:37). The first option seems the most correct. Her life has been spent mostly in prayer and fasting. Her description as a "prophetess" comes before and separately from her declarations about Jesus. The Bible does not explain what, exactly, she did to earn this designation. Other women in the Old Testament, such as Miriam (Exodus 15:20) and Deborah (Judges 4:4) were called by the same title.

Anna, like Simeon, is devoted to God. When she sees Jesus—the Messiah—she begins proclaiming His arrival to everyone. Her understanding of Jesus' role uses similar phrasing as that of Simeon. Jesus is referred to as "the redemption of Israel," much as Simeon was looking forward to "the consolation of Israel" (Luke 2:25). Old Testament prophecy indicated that the Messiah would usher in an unending kingdom for Israel (Isaiah 9:6–7).
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