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InterlinearVerse GEN EXO LEV NUM DEU JOB JOS JDG RUTH 1 SAM 2 SAM PSA AMOS HOS 1 KI 2 KI 1 CHR 2 CHR PROV ECC SNG JOEL MIC ISA ZEP HAB JER LAM YNA (JNA) NAH OBA DAN EZE EZRA EST NEH HAG ZEC MAL LAO GES LES ESG DNG 2 PS TOB JDT WIS SIR BAR LJE PAZ SUS BEL MAN 1 MAC 2 MAC 3 MAC 4 MAC YHN (JHN) MARK MAT LUKE ACTs YAC (JAM) GAL 1 TH 2 TH 1 COR 2 COR ROM COL PHM EPH PHP 1 TIM TIT 1 PET 2 PET 2 TIM HEB YUD (JUD) 1 YHN (1 JHN) 2 YHN (2 JHN) 3 YHN (3 JHN) REV
Luke C1 C2 C3 C4 C5 C6 C7 C8 C9 C10 C11 C12 C13 C14 C15 C16 C17 C18 C19 C20 C21 C22 C23 C24
Luke 2 V1 V3 V5 V7 V9 V11 V13 V15 V17 V19 V21 V23 V25 V27 V29 V31 V33 V35 V37 V39 V41 V43 V45 V47 V49 V51
OET (OET-LV) And Hanna was a_prophetess, daughter of_Fanouaʸl, of the_tribe of_Asaʸr/(ʼĀshēr), this woman having_advanced in great days, having_lived with a_husband seven years from the virginity of_her,
OET (OET-RV) Also there, was a prophetess named Hanna (the daughter of Fanuel from the tribe of Asher). She was very elderly, having been married for seven years
The events in this section happened some days after Jesus was born.
In 2:21–24, Luke mentioned three ceremonies that were done when Jewish boys were born:
the baby boy was circumcised;
the mother was ritually purified;
the baby boy was presented to God.
In 2:25–38 Luke described two other events that happened while Joseph, Mary, and Jesus were at the temple in Jerusalem. God allowed two righteous people named Simeon and Anna to see Jesus and to thank God for him. Simeon spoke a prophecy about Jesus and Mary.
In 2:39–40 Luke concluded the section. Joseph and Mary took Jesus back to their home in Nazareth, where he grew and became strong and wise. The Gospel of Matthew indicates that before they went to Nazareth, Joseph and Mary took Jesus to Egypt and stayed there for some time. Although Luke does not mention this, you should connect the clauses in 2:39 in a way that does not contradict it.
It is good to translate this section before you decide on a heading for it. Some other possible headings for this section are:
Jesus’ Parents Obey Moses’ Teachings (GW)
Jesus Presented at the Temple (NASB)
Some English versions begin new sections at 2:25 and at 2:36. If you decide to do this in your translation, some possible headings are:
Simeon saw Jesus and prophesied about him (2:25)
Anna thanked God for Jesus and told others about him (2:36)
Simeon’s Prophecy (2:25)
Anna’s Prophecy (2:36)
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….
There was also a prophetess named Anna,
¶ A woman, who was a prophet, was there also. Her name was Anna.
¶ Just then a woman named Anna approached them. She was a prophet.
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 (NRSV)
a spokeswoman for God
a woman who spoke God’s words
God’s message speaker
See also prophet in the Glossary.
the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher,
She was the daughter of a man named Phanuel who was from the tribe of Asher.
Her father was Phanuel. He was from the clan of Asher.
the daughter of Phanuel: The Greek phrase that the BSB 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 (TRT)
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.
who was well along in years.
Anna was a very old woman.
who was well along in years: The Greek clause that the BSB 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.
She had been married for seven years,
She had married and lived with her husband for seven years.
She had been married for only seven years.
She had married, and was married for seven years.
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 RSV). 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.
Note 1 topic: writing-participants
καὶ ἦν Ἅννα προφῆτις
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί ἦν Ἅννα προφῆτις θυγάτηρ Φανουήλ ἐκ φυλῆς Ἀσήρ αὕτη προβεβηκυῖα ἐν ἡμέραις πολλαῖς ζήσασα μετά ἀνδρός ἔτη ἑπτά ἀπό τῆς παρθενίας αὐτῆς)
Luke is introducing a new participant into the story. Alternate translation: [There was also a woman named Anna there in the temple. She was a prophetess]
Note 2 topic: translate-names
Ἅννα
Anna
Anna is the name of a woman.
Note 3 topic: translate-names
Φανουήλ
˱of˲_Phanuel
Phanuel is the name of a man.
Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom
αὕτη προβεβηκυῖα ἐν ἡμέραις πολλαῖς
this_‹woman› ˓having˒_advanced in days great
As in [1:7](../01/07.md), to have moved forward or to have advanced means to have aged. Alternate translation: [She was very old]
Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom
αὕτη προβεβηκυῖα ἐν ἡμέραις πολλαῖς
this_‹woman› ˓having˒_advanced in days great
Luke uses the term days to mean time in general. Alternate translation: [She was very old]
Note 6 topic: figures-of-speech / idiom
ἀπὸ τῆς παρθενίας αὐτῆς
(Some words not found in SR-GNT: Καί ἦν Ἅννα προφῆτις θυγάτηρ Φανουήλ ἐκ φυλῆς Ἀσήρ αὕτη προβεβηκυῖα ἐν ἡμέραις πολλαῖς ζήσασα μετά ἀνδρός ἔτη ἑπτά ἀπό τῆς παρθενίας αὐτῆς)
This is an idiom. Alternate translation: [after she married him]
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).
OET (OET-LV) And Hanna was a_prophetess, daughter of_Fanouaʸl, of the_tribe of_Asaʸr/(ʼĀshēr), this woman having_advanced in great days, having_lived with a_husband seven years from the virginity of_her,
OET (OET-RV) Also there, was a prophetess named Hanna (the daughter of Fanuel from the tribe of Asher). She was very elderly, having been married for seven years
Note: The OET-RV is still only a first draft, and so far only a few words have been (mostly automatically) matched to the Hebrew or Greek words that they’re translated from.
Acknowledgements: The SR Greek text, lemmas, morphology, and VLT gloss are all thanks to the CNTR.
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