Acts 9:40

40 Peter put the widows all out of the room. He knelt and prayed. Then he spoke directly to the body: "Tabitha, get up."

Acts 9:40 Meaning and Commentary

Acts 9:40

But Peter put them all forth
As he had seen his Lord and Master do, when he raised the daughter of Jairus from the dead, ( Luke 8:54 )

and kneeled down and prayed;
it may be, as yet, he had not the mind of God in this matter, and therefore betook himself to prayer, in which he chose to be private and alone:

and turning him to the body;
the corpse of Dorcas, after he had prayed, and was well assured that the power of Christ would be exerted in raising of it:

said, Tabitha, arise;
which words were spoken in the name and faith of Christ, and were all one as, if Christ himself had spoken them; for to his power, and not to the apostles, is the following miracle to be ascribed: and she opened her eyes; which, upon her death, had been closed by her friends; and perhaps the napkin was not yet bound about her face: or if it was, she must remove it ere she could open her eyes and see Peter:

and when she saw Peter;
whom she might know:

she sat up;
upon the bed or bier on which she lay.

Acts 9:40 In-Context

38 Some of the disciples had heard that Peter was visiting in nearby Lydda and sent two men to ask if he would be so kind as to come over.

39 Peter got right up and went with them. They took him into the room where Tabitha's body was laid out. Her old friends, most of them widows, were in the room mourning. They showed Peter pieces of clothing the Gazelle had made while she was with them.

40 Peter put the widows all out of the room. He knelt and prayed. Then he spoke directly to the body: "Tabitha, get up."

41 He took her hand and helped her up. Then he called in the believers and widows, and presented her to them alive.

42 When this became known all over Joppa, many put their trust in the Master.