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
Ambrose of Milan
AD 397
Anna, who, by reason of her years of widowhood and her virtues, is set before us as wholly worthy of belief, announces that the Redeemer of all people has come…. Not without purpose, however, does he make mention of the eightyfour years of her widowhood, because both the seven twelves and the two forties seemed to imply a number that is sacred.
