Heritage (Lesson 3)
By Patsy Norwood © 2026. All rights reserved. Any and all commercial use of this study is prohibited. Permission is given for use in ladies Bible classes as long as there are no changes made in the study and no monetary gain involved. This Bible study is written for women.
Luke 2: 36-38 (NASB)
And there was a prophetess, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was advanced in years and lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, and then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She never left the temple, serving night and day with fastings and prayers. At that very moment she came up and began giving thanks to God, and continued to speak of Him to all those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.
The next phrase in these verses we're going to look at is … daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher
In this lesson we’re going to look at Anna’s heritage. Our heritage is simply what we pass down to the next generation, our family background if you will.
Scripture tells us that Anna'a father’s name was Phanuel and that they were descendants of the tribe of Asher.
The name Phanuel means ‘face of God.’ We would like to think with a name with that meaning that Phanuel’s (Anna’s) family had been among the few who had stayed true to God.
We see that Anna was connected to her father instead of her husband as most biblical women are. Was that because Anna was widowed at a young age or was it maybe because of Anna’s roots in the tribe of Asher or was it for a completely different reason. God’s Word does not tell us.
God wanted us to know that Anna was from the tribe of Asher so we’re going to take a closer look at it. The tribe of Asher descended from the eighth son of Jacob. His mother was Leah and Asher was her second son. In Genesis 49:20 we find Jacob, on his deathbed, giving Asher the following blessing: “As for Asher, his food shall be rich, and he will yield royal dainties.” The blessing of “his food shall be rich and he will yield royal dainties” manifested itself in the form of a fruitful and fertile region where the tribe settled. Asher’s tribe was located in the lowlands along the Mediterranean between Carmel and Tyre (Joshua 19:24-31) in modern day Palestine. In I Kings 5:11 and II Chronicles 2:10 we see that Solomon supplied the household of King Hiram from the wheat and oil products that history tells us came from this area.
According to Deuteronomy 33, Moses, before his death, blessed the sons of Israel each with a blessing and verses 24 – 25 gives us the blessing he gave to Asher. “Of Asher he said, ‘More blessed than sons is Asher’ may he be favored by his brothers, and may he dip his foot in oil. Your locks will be iron and bronze, and according to your days, so will your leisurely walk be.” It seems that Moses was impressed with Asher as well.
Asher is not a tribe that we hear a lot about, in fact it is considered to be one of the ‘lost tribes’ meaning that most of the people had dispersed and assimilated into other tribes or cultures.
We know by reading I Kings 12:1-20 that the twelve tribes of Israel split and that 10 of the tribes became known as the Northern Kingdom and that the remaining two tribes became known as the Southern Kingdom. Asher was in the Northern Kingdom.
Before the split though, in Judges 1:31-32 we find that when the people of Asher were given their portion in the land of Canaan they did not drive out the enemy as God had told them to do, but instead ‘dwelt among the Canaanites.”
In II Chronicles 30: 10-11 we read that when King Hezekiah restored the temple service and sent couriers to call the people to worship that those of Asher did not laugh, mock or scorn them as some did, but humbled themselves and came to Jerusalem.
Anna’s descendants were among the remnant of those who humbled themselves and obeyed.
Circle the phrase ‘Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher” in your Bible and put an asterisk at the end of the phrase. Then go to the margin of your Bible, put another asterisk and write ‘biblical heritage.’
Anna’s heritage gives us insight into how she came to be the person she was.
As parents and grandparents, we need to search deep in our hearts and ask ourselves ‘what kind of heritage are we building for our children and future generations of our families?’
Are we building a biblical heritage or one that will show otherwise?
Building a biblical heritage starts with the choices we make each and every day, day in and day out. Building an ‘otherwise’ heritage requires no effort at all.
What kind of heritage am I building?
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I love reading your comments, so don't be shy!
I'll meet you back here next Thursday for lesson 2.
May you be blessed by this study!
patsy @ From This Heart of Mine
~ a place for women to gather and study God's Word ~
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