Luke2:36

1

Asher was one of the tribes that did not survive its exile into captivity. The ten tribes that were taken captive by the Assyrians were not allowed to live grouped together but were scattered among other people the Assyrians had captured. The Assyrians also brought people from elsewhere into the area those ten tribes had previously occupied, creating the hated people which in the New Testament are called the Samaritans. This mixing was done to make it harder for the captives to maintain their bloodlines, their language, their customs, and their cultural identity. It also meant they were less likely to band together and start a revolt. Without very many Jewish girls around, a Jewish young man may opt to marry a Gentile, and that was exactly what the Assyrians wanted. The Assyrians’ plan worked just as they had intended, and that is why very few Jews from those ten tribes could later claim to have a pure Jewish bloodline; instead those tribes melted away and became a mixture of many things. Without a pure bloodline one would have no claim to land in Israel, no claim to positions of authority, and no reason to keep track of his genealogy.

But Anna knew her genealogy and was happy to tell others about it. The insertion of this bit of information into the narrative serves to inform us that 1) her family had somehow managed to stay pure during the time of their captivity in Assyria, and had managed to return, OR 2) they had stayed behind in northern Israel but had not mixed with those around them, OR 3) they had moved to the southern kingdom shortly after the split, had lived in Judah or Benjamin until the exile to Babylon, and had survived the captivity to Babylon, OR 4) they had stayed behind in or near Jerusalem while the others were taken to Babylon, and had kept their bloodline pure. However her family had managed it, her bloodline alone would be reason to admire her. But the text also tells us that she was a devout woman who had dedicated herself to fasting and prayer.