Letting (H)Anna Speak: An Intertextual Reading of the New Testament Prophetess (Luke 2.36–38)

The story of (H)Anna is a brief description of a faithful prophetess (Lk. 2.36–38) which is consciously paired with the previous and more developed narrative of Simeon (22–35). Hannah’s story is significant to the Lukan Gospel and yet her voice, which men and women visiting the temple heard repeatedly (2.38), is not articulated by Luke. She has been the topic of much research, in as much as three verses in their context can provide, while no one has sought to let Hannah speak for herself. This article aims to do this by exploring her story within the Lukan narrative, considering prophetesses in the Old Testament, and echoing the dynamics of the Jewish story of Judith with which she is intertextually paired