In Greek, Tabitha’s name was Dorcas. You might have a footnote in your Bible which highlights the meaning of her name—it means gazelle.
You know, name meanings were more important in that culture than they are in our culture, and it’s striking that this is what she was called. In Aramaic, her name was Tabitha; in Greek, her name was Dorcas. So, everyone wanted to know her by this name—this gazelle-like woman—and it’s directly related to what she did.
Gazelle is a creature with not only beauty and grace, but also swiftness, energy, agility, elegance, fleet-footedness, alertness, and a readiness to help people—but in a calm and gentle way. That was Dorcas.
In the same way as it was the case back then, it is the case now. We have these gazelle-like people, in the church who are full of good works and charity, and those people come to the fore because of the neediness that exists in the church in this fallen world, and they are the Lord Jesus’ direct response to the suffering of local churches.
