Hannah, Anna, and Mary

Hannah, Anna, and Mary, the mother of Jesus, are representative examples of the great importance of women in the temple setting during the period that the law of Moses ruled Israel (for more than a millennium). Unfortunately, we lack the historical records that recount the thousands and tens of thousands of faithful women who also served the Lord in the temple during this time period.

Hannah: 1 Samuel 1 is a Hannah-centric chapter. The setting for much of the chapter is the temple (tabernacle) at Shiloh. The following items demonstrate Hannah’s important position in the temple, which would not only impact her own life, but that of the entire nation of Israel—Hannah’s son Samuel was destined to become one of Israel’s great prophets!

In the temple, Hannah prayed to the Lord (1:10–12); in her prayer, she vowed to give her son as a Nazarite (v. 11). It was Hannah’s choice (not her husband’s) to make Samuel a Nazarite. She informed her husband, “I will [dedicate] him as a Nazarite forever” (v. 22). The priest Eli witnessed her prayer and then conversed with her (see vv. 12–17). Afterward, the Septuagint (ancient Greek translation of the Bible) states that Hannah “entered her quarters,” which was located near the temple (v. 18). Significantly, Hannah and others also “worshipped” in the temple (v. 19).

Hannah presents Samuel to Eli.

After Samuel’s birth, Hannah journeyed back to the temple and presented him to Eli, thus fulfilling her vow (see 1 Sam 1:24–28); Hannah, and not her husband, is the catalyst who took Samuel to the temple—she “brought him [Samuel] unto the house of the Lord in Shiloh.” On her journey to the temple, Hannah took a three-year-old bull (to be sacrificed), some flour, and wine (1:24). Then “they [Elkanah and Hannah?] slew a bullock, and brought the child to Eli” (1:25). Once again, Hannah worshipped at the temple (see v. 28). Hannah’s impact on her family and the nation of Israel is immeasurable.

Anna: Luke describes this remarkably faithful woman: she was a prophetess, of “great age,” widowed for decades, who belonged to the tribe of Asher (Luke 2:36). Anna was a quintessential temple worshipper—she “was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day” (v. 37). After the man named Simeon held the baby Jesus while in the temple and uttered prophecies (see vv. 25–35), Luke writes that Anna “coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all that looked for redemption in Jerusalem” (v. 38). Evidently, Anna was blessed to see the baby Jesus in the temple at this time. In sum, Anna’s life was temple-focused and full of service to God.

Anna, the prophetess of “great age.”

Mary: Jesus Christ’s mother (together with Joseph) fully complied with the law of Moses. Mary and Joseph “performed all things according to the law of the Lord” (Luke 2:39) while in Jerusalem, attending the temple; they also “went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the passover” (2:41), which festival was celebrated, in part, in the temple.

After Jesus’s birth, Mary was ceremonially unclean for forty days, meaning she could not touch sacred things or enter the temple for that period of time. Then, after the forty days (called “the days of her purifying,” Lev. 12:4), Mary went to the temple “to offer a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law of the Lord, A pair of turtledoves, or two young pigeons” (Luke 2:24). According to the law, poor mothers presented two young pigeons or two doves, but those with economic means presented a lamb (see Lev. 12:6–8). Years later, when Jesus was twelve years old, Mary and Joseph “went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast [of the Passover]” (Luke 2:42). Surely Mary’s careful and continual obedience to God’s laws—including those that pertained to the temple—had a great impact on Jesus Christ, especially during His formative years. Her example, teachings, and temple-focused life no doubt prepared Him for His eternal and divine mission, that of being the Savior of the world.