Eleven miles farther northwest, in Joppa (the ancient seaport for Jerusalem, Josh 19:46; modern Jaffa), lives Tabitha, or Dorcas, a disciple famous for her kindness to the poor. She lives in the fear of the Lord (Acts 9:31) by adopting correct values concerning material things (compare Lk 12:33; Acts 10:2, 4; 20:35; 24:17). Dorcas becomes sick and dies. Funeral arrangements begin with the cleansing of the body with oil and rinsing it clean with water (m. Sabbat 23:5). Then she is placed in an upper room (compare Semahot 11:2). Outside Jerusalem, burial was not necessarily carried out on the same day, especially if the shroud or the coffin needed to be prepared (Safrai 1976:776). Luke notes Lydda's nearness to Joppa and the sending for Peter.

Out of honor to such a saint, Peter does come. As he is conducted to the upper room, the noisy wailing of widows greets him. They are probably among the Christian poor Dorcas had helped (Acts 6:1; compare Jesus' special interest in widows in his teaching and ministry: Lk 4:25-26; 7:12; 18:1-8; 20:47; 21:1-4). In fact they are wearing some of her handiwork. Dorcas customarily made (epoiei, customary use of the imperfect [Williams 1985:167], not pluperfect as NIV) undergarments and outergarments—cloaks—for them (NIV robes and other clothing is less precise).

In Dorcas Luke gives us a model of Christian charity to the marginalized in society. Then orphans and widows were the most economically vulnerable (Lk 20:47). No government safety net was there to catch them. And today too, Christians must bring as much "shalom" as possible to those on the margins.

Peter's actions show his total dependence on God. Ordering everyone out of the room (Mk 5:40) and falling on his knees in prayer, he asks the risen Lord to apply his resurrection power to this corpse. Then turning toward the dead woman (literally, "to the body"), he issues the simple command Tabitha, get up. In a reversal of the first act of preparation for burial, closing the eyes of the deceased (m. Sabbat 23:5; Semahot 1:4), Dorcas opens her eyes and, seeing Peter, sits up.

What joy there must be as Peter, helping her to her feet, calls through the door to the believers (literally "the saints"), and especially the widows, to whom he presents her alive (compare Acts 1:3). News of the resurrection leads many to saving faith in the Lord, and Peter remains quite awhile in Joppa, in the house of Simon the tanner.

The way God resurrected Dorcas apart from any actions by Peter which could be interpreted as magical manipulation shows us that prayer and the Word of God must be central to every healing God grants.