Person New Testament
Phanuel
Also known as Phanuel =ESV, KJV; Penuel =NIV
Phanuel, the father of Anna, a prophetess who witnessed the infant Jesus at the temple. Mentioned once in Scripture, at Luke 2:36.
Why it matters. Father of the prophetess Anna
- Primary passages
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-30 by the FaithGraph team
About Phanuel
Phanuel is mentioned in the Bible as the father of Anna, a prophetess who witnessed the infant Jesus at the temple in Jerusalem (Luk.2.36). Anna was from the tribe of Asher and was advanced in years, having lived with her husband for seven years before becoming a widow. She devoted herself to worship, fasting, and prayer in the temple. When Mary and Joseph brought the infant Jesus to the temple for the purification rites, Anna recognized him as the Messiah and spoke about him to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem (Luk.2.37-38). Phanuel's name means "face of God," which may suggest that he was a devout man. However, no other details are provided about his life or role in Anna's upbringing.
Description from STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0, lightly reformatted. This is background reference material, not Scripture and not a FaithGraph editorial claim.
Connections
No reviewed connections yet.
Family
Family links from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0). Where the dataset marks an identification as uncertain, the mark is kept. Matthew and Luke give different genealogies for Jesus; see the Lineage page, which never merges them.
- Children
- Anna
Appears in Scripture
Named in 1 verse across 1 book. Occurrence data from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0); references only, no translation text.
Luke (1 verse)