Luke 2:36

“And there was one Anna, etc.] The name is the same with Hannah: so Hannah, the mother of Samuel, is by the Septuagint called Anna, in (<090102>1 Samuel 1:2,5,9,15,19,22,25) and it signifies “grace”; or “gracious”: and as was her name, so was she, a gracious woman; One that had the grace of God herself, and was a publisher of the glad tidings of grace and redemption by Christ, to others; and she was a prophetess: for though prophecy had ceased among the Jews for some hundreds of years, it now revived upon the coming of the Messiah; and though instances of women prophets were rare, yet some there were, both before, and after the coming of Christ; as Miriam, the sister of Moses and Aaron,…”

“Anna--or, Hannah. a prophetess--another evidence that "the last times" in which God was to "pour out His Spirit upon all flesh" were at hand. of the tribe of Aser--one of the ten tribes, of whom many were not carried captive, and not a few reunited themselves to Judah after the return from Babylon. The distinction of tribes, though practically destroyed by the captivity, was well enough known up to their final dispersion (Rom 11:1; Heb 7:14); nor is it now entirely lost. lived, &c.--she had lived seven years with her husband (Luk 2:36), and been a widow eighty-four years; so that if she married at the earliest marriageable age, twelve years, she could not at this time be less than a hundred…”

“Of the tribe of Aser - The tribe of Aser, or Asher, dwelt in the northern part of the land of Canaan. Why Anna was called a prophetess is not known. It might be because she had been the wife of a prophet, or because she was employed in celebrating the praises of God (compare 1 Chronicles 25:1-2, 1 Chronicles 25:4; 1 Samuel 10:5), or because she herself had foretold future events, being inspired. return to 'Top of Page'”

“2:36-38 Anna is the Greek equivalent of the Hebrew name Hannah, Samuel’s mother (1 Sam 1–2). Jewish tradition identified seven Old Testament women as prophets: Sarah, Miriam, Deborah, Hannah, Abigail, Huldah, and Esther. Anna was another prophetic witness to Jesus’ identity as the Messiah. • The tribe of Asher, one of the ten northern tribes of Israel, was named after Jacob’s eighth son (Gen 30:12-13). Most of those who returned from Babylonian exile were from the tribe of Judah; other Israelites also knew their tribal ancestry in Jesus’ day. For instance, the apostle Paul was from the tribe of Benjamin (Phil 3:5).”

“a prophetess: Exo 15:20; Jdg 4:4; Kg2 22:14; Act 2:18, Act 21:9; Co1 12:1 Aser: Gen 30:13, Asher, Rev 7:6 she: Job 5:26; Psa 92:14 Luke 2:37”