Acts 9:40

40 Peter put all of them outside, and then he knelt down and prayed. He turned to the body and said, "Tabitha, get up." Then she opened her eyes, and seeing 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 Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, who heard that Peter was there, sent two men to him with the request, "Please come to us without delay."

39 So Peter got up and went with them; and when he arrived, they took him to the room upstairs. All the widows stood beside him, weeping and showing tunics and other clothing that Dorcas had made while she was with them.

40 Peter put all of them outside, and then he knelt down and prayed. He turned to the body and said, "Tabitha, get up." Then she opened her eyes, and seeing Peter, she sat up.

41 He gave her his hand and helped her up. Then calling the saints and widows, he showed her to be alive.

42 This became known throughout Joppa, and many believed in the Lord.