Bible Name Meaning Tool — Search Any Name (KJV)

Anna

Pronounced AN-uh

girl

✓ In the King James Bible (spelled Anah) — Yes — Anna (spelled Anah in the King James Bible) appears in the King James Bible, including Luke 2:36-37.

Meaning: "Grace; Favor"
Origin: Hebrew (Hannah)

Anna is the Greek form of the Hebrew name Hannah, meaning "grace" or "favor." In the Gospel of Luke, Anna was an elderly prophetess who had devoted herself to fasting and prayer in the temple for decades after being widowed at a young age. Anna was eighty-four years old when Joseph and Mary brought the infant Jesus to the temple. Along with Simeon, she recognized the child as the promised Messiah. "She gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem" (Luke 2:38). Anna's decades of faithful prayer and fasting prepared her for this singular moment of recognition. Her story shows that lifelong devotion positions us to see what God is doing when others miss it entirely.

Spiritual meaning

Anna's patient decades of prayer were rewarded with the privilege of seeing the Messiah. Her life teaches that faithful waiting is never wasted — God honors persistent devotion with extraordinary revelation.

Related verses (KJV)

"And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser: she was of a great age... which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day."
Luke 2:36-37 (KJV) →
"And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem."
Luke 2:38 (KJV) →

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Type the name into the search box above. The tool returns the Hebrew, Greek, Aramaic, or Latin root behind the name, its literal meaning, and the King James Version passages where it appears.

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