Luke 2:37

Context2:37 She had lived as a widow since then for eighty-four years. 1 She never left the temple, worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day. 2
Luke 5:33
Context5:33 Then 3 they said to him, “John’s 4 disciples frequently fast 5 and pray, 6 and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, 7 but yours continue to eat and drink.” 8
1 tn Grk “living with her husband for seven years from her virginity and she was a widow for eighty four years.” The chronology of the eighty-four years is unclear, since the final phrase could mean “she was widowed until the age of eighty-four” (so BDAG 423 s.v. ἕως 1.b.α). However, the more natural way to take the syntax is as a reference to the length of her widowhood, the subject of the clause, in which case Anna was about 105 years old (so D. L. Bock, Luke [BECNT], 1:251-52; I. H. Marshall, Luke, [NIGTC], 123-24).
2 sn The statements about Anna worshiping with fasting and prayer night and day make her extreme piety clear.
3 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
4 tc Most
sn John refers to John the Baptist.
5 sn John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees followed typical practices with regard to fasting and prayer. Many Jews fasted regularly (Lev 16:29-34; 23:26-32; Num 29:7-11). The zealous fasted twice a week on Monday and Thursday.
6 tn Grk “and offer prayers,” but this idiom (δέησις + ποιέω) is often simply a circumlocution for praying.
7 sn See the note on Pharisees in 5:17.
8 tn Grk “but yours are eating and drinking.” The translation “continue to eat and drink” attempts to reflect the progressive or durative nature of the action described, which in context is a practice not limited to the specific occasion at hand (the banquet).