Paragraph 2:36–38
This paragraph begins with background information. It introduces a woman named Anna and tells about her. The event in 2:38 happened immediately after Simeon’s blessing in 2:34–35. Indicate the background information in a natural way in your language. In some languages, you may want to put part of 2:38a at the beginning of the paragraph. For example:
38aAt that very moment a prophetess came up to them. 36aHer name was Anna….
2:36a
a prophetess named Anna: Anna was a prophetess, that is, a woman who was a prophet. She was not just an ordinary person who went to the temple.
A “prophet” was someone whom God chose to speak for him. God revealed things to a prophet that the prophet then told the people.
Some ways to translate prophetess are:
a prophet (New Revised Standard Version)
-or-
a spokeswoman for God
-or-
a woman who spoke God’s words
-or-
God’s message speaker
See also prophet in the Glossary.
2:36b
the daughter of Phanuel: The Greek phrase that the Berean Standard Bible translates as the daughter of Phanuel is literally “daughter of Phanuel.” It does not imply that she was Phanuel’s only daughter or that he did not have sons.
Phanuel was the name of a man. It refers to Anna’s father (or to a male ancestor), not to her mother. Another way to translate this is:
Her father was Phanuel (Translator’s Reference Translation)
the tribe of Asher: Asher was one of the twelve sons of Jacob. Jacob’s other name was Israel. Each of Israel’s sons had many descendants and formed large family groups who were all descendants of Israel. In English such groups can be called “tribes” or “clans.” Anna and her father Phanuel belonged to the clan/tribe that was named for its ancestor Asher. Use an appropriate term to describe such a family group in your language.
2:36c
who was well along in years: The Greek clause that the Berean Standard Bible translates as who was well along in years is more literally “she was advanced in many days.” This is an idiom that emphasizes that Anna was very old. If you have an idiom that expresses this, you may be able to use it here.
2:36d
She had been married for seven years: In Greek this part of the verse is literally “having lived with a husband seven years from her virginity” (as in the Revised Standard Version). This means that Anna got married and was married for seven years. In this context, it also indicates that she had had only one husband.
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