Acts 9:36–9:43, King James Version
Italic words were supplied in the English translation for clarity.
Acts 9:36–9:43
Tabitha's work and community are restored
Widows hold up Tabitha's garments, and a female disciple is restored to them
At Joppa a disciple named Tabitha, which by interpretation is called Dorcas, is full of good works and almsdeeds. She is sick and dies. When they have washed her, they lay her in an upper chamber. Lydda being nigh, the disciples send two men to Peter, desiring that he not delay to come. Peter goes with them. They bring him into the upper chamber, where all the widows stand by him weeping and showing the coats and garments Dorcas made while she was with them. Peter puts them forth, kneels down, prays, and turning to the body says, Tabitha, arise. She opens her eyes, sees Peter, and sits up. He gives her his hand, lifts her up, and calls the saints and widows, presenting her alive. It is known throughout Joppa; many believe in the Lord. Peter stays many days in Joppa with one Simon a tanner.
Luke uses a feminine form for disciple and keeps Tabitha's work and the widows' material evidence at the center. The scene does not define a formal office for her. The raising is a singular mercy after death has already been named. It is not a technique, not a slight on burial care, and not an argument against medicine.
How this should shape us
Keep a woman's actual labor visible when you tell her story. Comfort the people who depended on her, and do not turn this raising into a staged method, a claim against medical care, or a proof of an office the passage never assigns.
Teach it back
Explain Acts 9:36–9:43 in your own words, naming its movement, speaker or narrator role, one source-controlled detail, one uncertainty, one affected person, and one conclusion the passage does not authorize.
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Go deeper
The explanation above is meant to stand on its own. Open these notes only if you want language, history, disagreements, or source locations.
Research trail and exact locationsThe source record behind this section
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and unit coverage.
Acts 9:36–9:43, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Supports: Greek wording and punctuation control, without pretending one edition is a complete apparatus.
SBLGNT official text, Acts 9:36-9:43
Supports: Morphology and lexical cross-check for words explicitly discussed in this unit.
STEP Bible Data, TAGNT rows for Acts 9:36-9:43
Supports: Verse-attached textual, translation, language, geography, chronology, and historical notes actually printed for the unit.
NET Bible First Edition Acts PDF, printed pp. 2104-2205, exact tn/tc/sn entries attached to 9:36–9:43
Supports: Introductory critical orientation to the unit's place in Luke-Acts, with contested judgments retained as interpretations.
Yale Bible Study Acts course, course unit 'Gentiles Join the Movement,' Acts 9-12 study guide
Supports: One complete confessional commentary reading, independently checked against the text and critical controls.
Thompson, online Acts commentary, heading and paragraphs explicitly covering Acts 9:36–9:43
Supports: Women's named work, household agency, discipleship, or leadership relevant to Acts 9:36–9:43; unavailable chapters are not attributed.
Calpino, Women, Work and Leadership in Acts, publisher preview, contents and introduction, especially visible discussion of Tabitha at Acts 9:36-43 and Lydia at Acts 16:13-15
Sources for This Section
These records identify the source, the claim it supports, and the exact location used. A source remains evidence to evaluate; it does not replace the biblical text.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and unit coverage.
Exact location: Acts 9:36–9:43, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗Greek textual evidence
The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition
Michael W. Holmes, editor; Society of Biblical Literature and Logos
Society of Biblical Literature and Logos Bible Software, 2010
Supports: Greek wording and punctuation control, without pretending one edition is a complete apparatus.
Exact location: SBLGNT official text, Acts 9:36-9:43
Open the Acts Greek text file ↗Lexical and grammatical evidence
STEP Bible Data
Tyndale House Cambridge
Tyndale House Cambridge, repository snapshot verified 2026
Supports: Morphology and lexical cross-check for words explicitly discussed in this unit.
Exact location: STEP Bible Data, TAGNT rows for Acts 9:36-9:43
Open source ↗open translation and translator notes
NET Bible First Edition Notes: Acts
Biblical Studies Press
Biblical Studies Press, 2006
Supports: Verse-attached textual, translation, language, geography, chronology, and historical notes actually printed for the unit.
Exact location: NET Bible First Edition Acts PDF, printed pp. 2104-2205, exact tn/tc/sn entries attached to 9:36–9:43
Open source ↗open university bible study course
Acts of the Apostles Course and Study Guides
Yale Divinity School faculty
Yale Bible Study, 2019
Supports: Introductory critical orientation to the unit's place in Luke-Acts, with contested judgments retained as interpretations.
Exact location: Yale Bible Study Acts course, course unit 'Gentiles Join the Movement,' Acts 9-12 study guide
Open source ↗open confessional commentary
The Acts of the Apostles
Alan J. Thompson
The Gospel Coalition, 2023
Supports: One complete confessional commentary reading, independently checked against the text and critical controls.
Exact location: Thompson, online Acts commentary, heading and paragraphs explicitly covering Acts 9:36–9:43
Open source ↗scholarly monograph preview
Women, Work and Leadership in Acts
Teresa J. Calpino
Mohr Siebeck, 2014
Supports: Women's named work, household agency, discipleship, or leadership relevant to Acts 9:36–9:43; unavailable chapters are not attributed.
Exact location: Calpino, Women, Work and Leadership in Acts, publisher preview, contents and introduction, especially visible discussion of Tabitha at Acts 9:36-43 and Lydia at Acts 16:13-15
Open source ↗