Phanuel

Phanuel (Greek: Φανουήλ Phanouēl) or Penuel (Hebrew: פְּנוּאֵל Pənū’êl) was the father of Anna the prophetess. He is mentioned once only in the New Testament, in Luke 2:36. He was a member of the Tribe of Asher and his name means "Face of God".

This article is about the name and Biblical father of Anna. For the Angel Phanuel, see Phanuel (angel).

Theologian John Gill supposed that "this man might be a person of some note, or he may be mentioned for the sake of his name, which signifies the face of God, and is the name Jacob gave to a certain place where he had seen God face to face" (Genesis 32:30).[1] As Anna was herself 'very old', it can be assumed that Phanuel was not still alive at the time of Anna's encounter with the child Jesus in the Temple (Luke 2:38).

References
  1. Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible on Luke 2, accessed 24 December 2015


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