Acts 9:40

40 Peter sent them all out of the room. Then he got down on his knees and prayed. He turned toward the dead woman. He said, "Tabitha, get up." She opened her eyes. When she saw Peter, she sat 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 Lydda was near Joppa. The believers heard that Peter was in Lydda. So they sent two men to him. They begged him, "Please come at once!"

39 Peter went with them. When he arrived, he was taken upstairs to the room. All the widows stood around him crying. They showed him the robes and other clothes Dorcas had made while she was still alive.

40 Peter sent them all out of the room. Then he got down on his knees and prayed. He turned toward the dead woman. He said, "Tabitha, get up." She opened her eyes. When she saw Peter, she sat up.

41 He took her by the hand and helped her to her feet. Then he called the believers and the widows. He brought her to them. They saw that she was alive.

42 This became known all over Joppa. Many people believed in the Lord.