Lives of Scripture

Tabitha -- called Dorcas in Greek, both names meaning "gazelle" -- was a disciple in Joppa "abounding with deeds of kindness and charity which she continually did," widely loved for her practical generosity toward the community's poor (Acts 9:36). When she became ill and died, the believers in Joppa, having heard Peter was nearby in Lydda, sent two men urging him to come without delay (9:37-38). When Peter arrived, he was taken to the upper room where her body lay, and the widows there stood around him weeping, "showing all the tunics and garments that Dorcas used to make while she was with them" -- a vivid, tangible testimony to her ministry of caring for the community's most vulnerable through her own hands and skill (9:39). Peter put everyone out of the room, knelt down and prayed, then turned to the body and said, "Tabitha, arise," language that closely echoes Jesus's own words raising Jairus's daughter ("Talitha, arise," Mark 5:41). She opened her eyes, saw Peter, and sat up; Peter gave her his hand and helped her up, then called in the believers and widows and presented her alive (9:40-41). The miracle became known throughout Joppa, "and many believed in the Lord" as a result (9:42). Tabitha's story is Scripture's clearest picture of a life defined entirely by quiet, practical charity, made all the more striking by being interrupted by resurrection power.