Acts 10:10

10 and he was hungry. But while a meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance.

Acts 10:10 Meaning and Commentary

Acts 10:10

And he became very hungry
It being in the middle of the day, when it was usual to eat; and perhaps he had ate nothing that day, for those were reckoned the most religious persons, who eat nothing before the Minchah:

and would have eaten;
though the Jews say ^F5, a man ought not to eat near the Minchah, not even the least, lest he should continue at it, and so neglect his prayers:

but while they made ready,
while Simon's family were getting dinner ready, preparing the food for it:

he fell into a trance;
or an ecstasy, or an ecstasy fell upon him; it was what was supernatural, and came from above, and did not arise from any natural cause in him; he was as it were out of the body, and entirely in the spirit; all the bodily organs and senses were shut up, and all sensible objects removed from him; and he was wholly intent on what was proposed to him in the vision, which filled him with wonder and astonishment.

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FOOTNOTES:

F5 Maimon. & Bartenora in Misn. Sabbat. ib.

Acts 10:10 In-Context

8 He told them what had happened and sent them off to Joppa.

9 The next day as Cornelius’s messengers were nearing the town, Peter went up on the flat roof to pray. It was about noon,

10 and he was hungry. But while a meal was being prepared, he fell into a trance.

11 He saw the sky open, and something like a large sheet was let down by its four corners.

12 In the sheet were all sorts of animals, reptiles, and birds.