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Dorcas

A disciple at Joppa, also called Tabitha, described as full of good works and acts of charity. When she fell ill and died, the believers laid her in an upper room and sent for Peter at nearby Lydda. He arrived to find the widows weeping and showing the tunics and other garments she had made for them; he put them all outside, knelt and prayed, and said 'Tabitha, arise'. The news became known throughout Joppa and many believed.

Role: Disciple

Also known as: Tabitha

Lived: 1st century

What we know — and how we know it

Scholarly — supported scholarly belief · 1

Name & titles

ScholarlyThe disciple at Joppa carries two equivalent names: the Aramaic Tabitha (טביתא) and the Greek Dorcas (Δορκάς), both meaning "gazelle" or "doe." Acts explicitly glosses one by the other, illustrating the bilingual Jewish-Hellenistic naming of first-century coastal Judea.

Onomastic analysis; Aramaic ṭabyā / Greek dorkas both denote "gazelle," as the text itself notes (Acts 9:36).

Where in scripture

Acts

Now there was at Joppa a certain disciple named Tabitha, which when translated, means Dorcas. This woman was full of good works and acts of mercy which she did.
Acts 9:36 — Full of good works

Peter got up and went with them. When he had come, they brought him into the upper room. All the widows stood by him weeping, and showing the coats and garments which Dorcas had made while she was with them.
Acts 9:39

Peter sent them all out, and knelt down and prayed. Turning to the body, he said, “Tabitha, get up!” She opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter, she sat up.
Acts 9:40 — 'Tabitha, arise'

Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, a public-domain translation.

Acts 9:36 Acts 9:39 Acts 9:40

Related reading

Dorcas

What we know — and how we know it

Where in scripture