Dorcas

Dorcas (, used as a translated variant of the Aramaic name), or Tabitha, was an early disciple of Jesus mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles (, see discussion here). She lived in the port city of Joppa, today absorbed by Tel Aviv. Acts describes her as being known for her "good works and acts of mercy", sewing clothes for the poor. When she died, the widows of her community mourned her and sent urgently for Peter, who was in nearby Lydda. As evidence of her charity, they showed him some of the clothes she had sewn, and according to the biblical account he raised her from the dead. She is celebrated as a saint by the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, and some Protestant denominations. Name Both her Jewish name, which is in Aramaic, rendered as Tabitha, and her Greek one, Dorcas, translate to [female] 'gazelle'. The equivalent Hebrew name is Zibiah, also spelled Tsibiah, a name carried by the mother of King Joash of Judah. Some explain the use of a Greek variant of Tabitha's Syriac Aramaic name by the fact that she was living in a port city, where many inhabitants and visitors would primarily communicate in Greek. Dorcas was a common name of the time both among Jews and Greeks. Today, the scientific name of one species of gazelle is Gazella dorcas, the dorcas gazelle. The Greek verb used in Acts 9:36 is διερμηνεύω, transliterated diermēneuō, which means "to interpret fully, to explain", and in this passage it is rendered "is by interpretation", which in context leads to the literal meaning: "Tabitha, meaning Dorcas" (i.e. 'gazelle').