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CHRISTIAN WOMAN
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JESUS ROSE FROM THE DEAD. AND THEN...
Bible Study Resource: women of the early Christian Church Dorcas/Tabitha
Many Jews living in the Diaspora (outside Judaea) had two names, one Jewish and one Greek
or Latin (this may be why Saul and Paul are both used to refer to St
Paul). 1. The power of Jesus of Nazareth has passed into his disciples, in this case Peter, who can now restore people to life as Jesus did.
The raising of Tabitha is part of the cycle of stories about Peter in Acts
of the Apostles. Paul is at this point off-stage, waiting in the wings to
begin his missionary endeavours.
The story of Dorcas/Tabitha presents a Christian woman who resembles the ideal Roman matron.
She is a respectable widow who
This image countered accusations aimed at the early Christians, that they were undesirable subversives whose practices included cannabilism (eating the body and blood of a human leader called Jesus). Dorcas was, if you like, part of a PR campaign to improve the image of the early Christian community. |
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The story is important because it is set in the period of dynamic growth that followed the events of Pentacost, and so is part of the history of the foundation of the Christian churches in the Roman world.
The story contains four episodes that together form a beautifully constructed vignette:
1 We are introduced to Dorcas/Tabitha and learn she has died of an unknown cause. She has been an admired member of the community, and many people mourn her death. |
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Read Acts 9:36-37 Dorcas seems to have been a well-off widow living in the coastal city of Joppa (to see the location of the coastal city of Joppa, go to MAPS). The original Greek text describes this widow-woman as 'mathetria', a female disciple - the only time the New Testament uses this word. So immediately we know she is a woman of good repute. She is always portrayed in artworks and commentary as a holy woman, and that may well have been true. But she also sounds like one of those large-bosomed, good-natured women who are so generous-hearted that they are loved by all. This is reinforced by the next thing we learn about her: she spends her time doing good works and 'acts of charity'. She is therefore an admired member of the community, esteemed by all.
When she dies, her body is washed and cared for (see Burial Practices in the Ancient World) and then laid out in an upper room. The 'upper room' has special significance in the Christian story. An upper room was the scene of the Last Supper in Jerusalem, and it is mentioned twice, pointedly, in the story of Tabitha. It is a space that is removed from the hurly-burly of the ground-floor courtyard and public rooms, a relatively quiet place where contact with God might take place. |
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PETER IS SUMMONED, AND RESPONDS Read Acts
9:38-39 Ritual mourning follows her death. She has many friends, and they all wish to show their respect and affection by openly grieving. Mourning was not a restrained activity in the ancient Middle East. People showed their grief by wailing, crying, and tearing the upper part of their woven garment. The more noise, the more the dead person was loved. But then someone has an idea. The people in Dorcas' house, described also as 'disciples', hear that Peter is in nearby Lydda. They send two men to get him and bring him to Dorcas' house - no doubt the widows of Tabitha's circle of friends had many sons and nephews who could be roped in for this sort of task. Peter responds immediately, and his journey is significant. It is a twelve-mile walk to Joppa, and by travelling there Peter is moving to the limits of Jewish territory - further away from Jerusalem, which at that time was hostile to the infant Christian church. The journey is a reflection of his inner journey, as he moves away from Judaism towards a new understanding of his mission. Peter is taken
to Tabitha's body, laid out in the upper room of her house. Her friends
are gathered around her body. They show Peter the garments she has made
for the poor. The evidence for a well-lived life is there for all to see. PETER RAISES DORCAS FROM THE DEAD Read Acts 9:40-42
He kneels and prays, facing away from the body - perhaps to focus his entire mind on God. Then he turns to Dorcas' body. Using her Jewish name, Tabitha, and drawing on the same source of power that Jesus had, he commands her to get up. The dead body responds. She opens her eyes, sees Peter, and sits up. He extends his hand to her and raises her up into a standing position. Then he summons her friends from outside, who see with their own eyes what has happened. Acts does not attempt to describe their gaping amazement. It simply records that because of this, many people believed in the Lord - as well they might! But it is important to see that there are two dimensions to the raising of Tabitha:
The life of the body is one thing, but it must be accompanied by life within a community. Up until this moment, Peter believed it was his mission to convert the Jewish people. At Joppa there is a significant change in his attitude. It is as if, after the raising of Dorcas, Peter realizes he has a more profound role to play in human history. Acts 10 reports he had a dream and realized that 'God shows no partiality' (Acts 10:34). From this moment, Peter knows he must convert Gentiles as well as Jews to belief in Jesus Christ. This was one of Luke's main points when he wrote the Acts of the Apostles; he was writing largely for Gentile Christians. |
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SUMMARY
Women in the Scriptures: Clarice Martin, writing in 'Searching the Scriptures' (p771), says that 'Women in Acts are seen as recipients of the Holy Spirit, active agents, missionaries and witnesses in spreading the Christian faith, hosts of churches in their homes, teachers, exemplars of good works, prophets, beneficiaries of God's healing and liberation power, and as hailing from diverse economic groups, including the very wealthy and the economically disenfranchised.' The big picture: The benefits of this miracle go far beyond Tabitha and the circle of friends who mourned her death and rejoiced at her restoration to life. Peter and the first Christians are inspired and heartened by the event, and the infant Church spreads and grows because of this miracle.
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HISTORICAL BACKGROUND TO THE NEW TESTAMENT Though he lived centuries before Christ, Alexander the Great (356-323 BC) influenced the Jewish world in which the early Christian women lived. He saw it as his mission to spread Greek culture throughout the world. There was much that was refined and intelligent in Hellenistic (that is, Greek) culture, and many Jews were tempted to adopt it. But as they did, they found that their own culture and identity were threatened. For this reason, Greek culture was resisted by many Jews and its influence was uneven. For example, Nazareth where Jesus grew up was a conservative town that clung to traditional Jewish culture. But Joppa, a sophisticated port city with better access to the Mediterannean world, was quite different. Here Greek influence was strong, and people were much readier to accept new ideas - such as the philosophy of Christianity. Acts of the Apostles suggests the proselytizing Christians found it easier to find listeners in places like Joppa, and the cities of Greece and Asia Minor.
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WOMEN’S LIVES IN THIS ERA 'Woman' was placed in a
category containing elements that were viewed as negative: Man
-
Woman |
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These are examples only, but they show
that Platonic dualism placed women like Tabitha/Dorcas in a negative category. Women were closer to the natural/animal world than men. By nature they were irrational and untrustworthy, and therefore unfit to make
their own decisions and govern their own lives. They had to be looked
after and controlled, never treated as equals. Jewish and Jewish/Christian women resisted the ideas of Platonic dualism, which patronized them and diminished their status. While Christianity remained a Jewish sect, the status of women within the Christian communities was high. But as the ideas of Christianity moved out into the Gentile, Hellenised world - of which Joppa was a prime example, the first Christians found they had to use the Greek philosophical framework. So Jesus' original ideal of mutual respect between the sexes was watered down and changed. Women were given roles that were acceptable in the outside, Hellenistic culture. The Christian church stepped back from the radical ideals of the first Jewish/Christians. Women were still powerful in the private sphere, but were shunted to the side in the public arena. This shows up, for example, in 1st and 2nd century re-tellings of the biblical stories. These stories often had women as central characters, but now they focused on men and male activities.
An example of this is the story of Moses’ birth in
Josephus’ Antiquities (Josephus was a Jewish writer and historian
of the 1st century BC).
In the original biblical telling of the story (in Exodus 1 and 2) the baby Moses is saved by the two midwives, by his mother, by his sister, and by Pharaoh’s daughter – all, obviously, women. In Josephus’ retelling of the story written in about 94AD, the focus is largely on Moses’ father Amram. He performs many of the actions previously attributed to the women. Female characters in the story are changed.
There were reasons for the changes in the story. Josephus was trying to counter the anti-Semitism that existed in Rome at the time, so he wrote about Jewish women who behaved like decent Roman matrons! This ideal of Roman womanhood had been vigorously promoted in a ‘back to basics’ program by the emperor Augustus. The ideal Roman woman was a mother of many children, content with her household duties. She kept to her traditional role, in the home, and did not speak assertively to the men in her family. She did not enter the public world. So to fit in to the outside world, the Acts of the Apostles presents women who correspond to the Roman ideal. For additional information on the lives of women in the Bible, see the links to FAMILY, WORK AND RELIGION: the tribe, the family, slaves, women's tasks, beliefs MILESTONES IN A WOMAN'S LIFE: Puberty, menstruation, marriage, childbirth, death, burials CLOTHING, HOUSING : ancient fabric, weaving, different styles for rich and poor
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ACTIVITIES AND QUESTIONS
Present these descriptions and responses in the form of a journal entry, or assume the persona of
a bystander and tell the
group or a learning partner about your experience. Find out about the practices and beliefs surrounding death in 1st century Palestine. Spend some time thinking about your own beliefs about life after death.
Women in films General
Focus
Questions for Bible Stories
Dozens of extra ideas at Activities for Bible Study Groups and Schools ______________________________________________________ |
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RELATED SITES - stories, pictures, ideas Clothes she wore, houses she lived in - CLOTHES AND HOUSES A short bio of Peter - ROCKY'S STORY
Read about more fascinating women of the Bible |
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Dorcas/Tabitha - Bible Woman - Women of the
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Testament;
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She
becomes ill and dies. Her illness is unspecified, but we may assume she
was nursed by her friends and family; there was nothing
corresponding to a hospital or medical center at that time. Sick people were cared
for, and treated, within their own home, by their friends and family.
Peter
is moved by their grief, but he puts them outside so that the room becomes
peaceful and quiet again. There is only him and the body of Dorcas.
The mid-wives in
Josephus’ retelling