Luke - Anna

Lu 2:36 And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser: she was of a great age, and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity;

Anna or Hannah means 'grace'. It is also the name of the mother of Samuel. Both women were desolate or barren.

Phanuel, by formation of the letters means "the mystery פ of the Son of Man נ clarified ן by God אל"

Aser or Asher means, "man אש of revelation ר."

Anna was a prophetess.

Both women thanked God in their testimonies of what God had done. The silence of the widow is broken with the child.

1Sa 1:27 For this child I prayed; and the LORD hath given me my petition which I asked of him: (The song that follows is a song of redemption).

Lu 2:38 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.

This seems like an insignificant detail that Luke has included. However, through Simeon and Anna we get the word of 'peace and grace'. The greeting of "Grace and Peace" became common and is used by Paul in his letters as well as by Peter and John.

We will see many parallels between people with the same name. Like Annah and Hannah, Simeon and Simon Peter were both who had a special revelation from God to the identity of the Christ. Peter declared "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." matching the testimony of Simeon.