Dorcas, also known as Tabitha,a disciple Whom Peter raised from the Dead. She lived in the town of Joppa, one of the few port cities of Israel. The Bible describes her as a disciple who was known and loved as a very generous woman toward the poor. She made clothing for others and was always doing good.
While Peter was ministering in the city of Lydda nearby, Dorcas became sick and died—and some believers brought Peter to see what had happened. When he arrived, some widows were mourning her death and showed Peter some clothes that Dorcas had made for them.
Peter sent everyone from the room and prayed to God. Then he turned to Dorcas, telling her to get up—and she did! News of this amazing miracle spread throughout Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord.
Dorcas’s generous gifts of clothing for others are made even more admirable when we realize that clothing was typically much more expensive in ancient times than it is today. The making of cloth and clothing was essentially an entirely manual process, so it took a long time to make a single item. As a result, clothing was expensive, and people could not usually afford many sets of clothing.
Dorcas was a continual witness to the power of God at work in her life, from her generosity with her possessions, to her own labors of love, to her amazing experience of being raised to life again by Peter.