And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher: she was of a great age, and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity;
All Commentaries on Luke 2:36 Go To Luke 2
Bede
AD 735
In a mystical sense Anna stands for the church, which in this present world is as it were widowed by the death of her Spouse. Even the number of the years of her widowhood designates the time in which the church, continuing on in the body, sojourns afar from her Lord. Seven times twelve make eightyfour. And seven relates to the full course of this world, which was wrought in seven days. But twelve belongs to the completeness of the apostolic teachings. Whoever, therefore, whether the universal church or anyone of the faithful, devotes the whole course of life to apostolic labors, is praised as serving the Lord for eightyfour years. The period of seven years during which she lived with her husband is in accord with the time of the Lord’s incarnation. For as I have said, the completeness of time is to be expressed by the number seven. Here because of the special quality of the Lord’s majesty, the simple number of seven years expresses, in sign of its perfection, the time in which he taught while clothed in the flesh. It also favors the mysteries of the church that Anna is interpreted as the Lord’s grace, that she is the daughter of Phanuel, who is called the face of the Lord, and descended from the tribe of Ashur, that is, blessed with children.
