She was a disciple of Jesus, raised from the dead by Peter
This series of Bible studies seeks to retell the stories of women who were divinely called and empowered to do great things. Many of them rose to the occasion, and a few very famously did not. Often, the tragedies and triumphs in their lives are missed, and their stories are told from perspectives other than with the honor and dignity they deserve.
After excavating their narratives from millennia of obfuscation, now meet the freshly restored, valiant, vivid (and sometimes villainous) women of the Bible.
Tabitha: Disciple Delivered from Death
Tabitha, also called Dorcas, is the only woman named as a disciple in the New Testament, who established an Order of Widows in her home (later outlined by the apostle Paul in his letter to Titus). Her ministry was so important to her community, the apostle Peter came to her home and prayed that God might raise her from the dead.
This thirty-page book includes the retelling of Tabitha’s story, a fifteen-question Bible study, and link to a twenty-minute multi-media presentation of Tabitha’s miraculous return to life as the catalyst for widespread conversions in Samaria and the ancient Phoenician region.
A Noted Disciple Whose Name Was Tabitha
Were there women disciples in the first century church? Yes!
The disciple Tabitha’s ministry, her presence, her generosity and reach were so important and widespread, that when she died the apostle Peter was summoned. The news of her being brought back to life spread like wildfire, igniting countless conversions throughout Samaria and Phoenicia.
The duality of Tabitha has largely been ignored by traditional scholarship. Though often noted for her good works, Tabitha’s account is typically used as an opportunity to praise the apostle Peter and the miracle he performed. As a result, the finer literary nuances have until recently been missed within Tabitha’s account and concerning the importance of Tabitha’s place in the larger narrative of the Book of Acts.
The independence of women during the first-century Greco-Roman period has also been misunderstood. The early Christian movement included women in leadership and multiethnic assemblies. Tabitha’s portrayal within that milieu reveals her distinctive embodiment of both the inclusive arc of Christianity and the prevalence of female leaders in those early centuries.
Raising Tabitha from the dead provides an important emphasis on the symbolic and actual presence of Jesus and his ministry in Joppa. This miracle and the dualities within Tabitha’s account provide a bridge between the first and second sections of Acts and between the gospel’s impact on a largely Jewish audience to the impact on the expanded Gentile world, as well as the gospel’s transformative work in both worlds.
Nearly forty free Bible studies on a woman in the scriptures are available through signing up to the newsletter below. What’s included:
- Access to all the Bible studies that have been made available so far.
- One new study each month.
- Early announcement of new books, published by the author.
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