There was at Joppa.... — The Hebrew form of the name, Japho (pronounced Yapho), appears in Joshua 19:46, but the English version more commonly gives the better-known Joppa, as in 2 Chronicles 2:16; Ezra 3:7; Jonah 1:3). It was famous in Greek legends as the spot where Andromeda had been bound when she was delivered by Perseus (Strabo, xvi., p. 759; Jos. Wars, i. 6, § 2). The town stood on a hill so high that it was said (though this is not in conformity with the fact) that Jerusalem could be seen from its summit. It was the nearest port to that city, and though the harbour was difficult and dangerous of access, was used for the timber that, first under Solomon, and afterwards under Zerubbabel, was brought from Lebanon for the construction of the Temple (1 Kings 5:9; 2 Chronicles 2:16; Ezra 3:7). In the history of Jonah it appears as a port from which ships sail to Tarshish and Spain (Jonah 1:3). Under the Maccabean rulers the harbour and fortifications were restored (1MMalachi 4:5; 1Ma. 4:34). By Augustus it was given to Herod the Great, and afterwards to Archelaus (Jos. Ant. xv. 7, § 3; xvii. 11, § 4), and on his deposition, became part of the Roman province of Syria. It was at this time and later on notorious as a nest of pirates. Here also we may, as in the case of Lydda (see Note on Acts 9:32), see the work of Philip as the probable founder of the Church.
Tabitha, which by interpretation is called Dorcas. — Both the Hebrew and Greek names mean Antelope or Gazelle. The fact that she bore both implies some points of connection both with the Hebrew and Hellenistic sections of the Church. The Greek form occurs, in the curious combination of Juno Dorcas, on one of the inscriptions in the Columbarium of Livia, now in the Capitoline Museum at Rome, as belonging to an Ornatrix of the Empress. Was the disciple of Joppa in any way connected with the slave, whose very function implied skill in needlework? If, as is probable, the Church at Joppa owed its foundation to Philip (see Note on Acts 8:40), we may trace in the position which she occupied, in relation to the “widows” of the Church, something of the same prudential wisdom as had been shown in the appointment of the Seven, of whom he had been one.
Full of good works. — The form of the expression may be noticed as characteristic of St. Luke, and his favourite formula for conveying the thought of a quality being possessed in the highest degree possible. So we have “full of leprosy” in Luke 5:12, “full of grace” and “full of faith” in Acts 6:5; Acts 6:8. (Comp. also Acts 13:10; Acts 19:28.)