And it came to pass, that he tarried many days in Joppa with one Simon a tanner.
After Tabitha was raised to life and many believed, Peter remained a long time in Joppa lodging with Simon the tanner whose house was by the sea. The extended stay strengthened the new believers and gave Peter time for rest, meditation and prayer in preparation for the work next set before him. Lodging with a tanner, whose trade Jews despised as unclean, shows that the gospel and its workers do not respect persons. During that stay he saw on the housetop the sheet let down with all manner of beasts and heard that what God has cleansed should not be called common, which taught that no man should be called common or unclean and that to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance unto life. The stay stands at the close of the seventy weeks in A.D. 34, when the gospel went to the Gentiles after Christ's covenant was confirmed and the Jewish nation was cut off, opening the work through Saul's commission and through Cornelius sending from Caesarea to Joppa for Peter.
Words and Setting in Joppa
The many days of the stay show that the Greek word hemera means a full day of twenty-four hours embracing both night and day. They belong with the texts in which periods of days are specified or a succession of days is mentioned, where day stands for the entire twenty-four hours. The verse places Peter lodging for many days in Joppa with Simon a tanner, whose house was by the sea. Most of the town is situated close to the water's edge, on a low, rocky promontory extending a short distance into the sea.
The traditional site of Simon's house in Joppa is still located and shown as the house where Peter stayed. The discovery of ancient tanning vats near the traditionally identified house supports the possibility that this was where Simon lived and where Peter was lodging when he saw his vision. Joppa was also where he restored Tabitha to life and later received the vision that sent him to Cornelius in Caesarea. The lodging in Joppa placed Peter where he raised Dorcas to life and where Cornelius sent for him from Caesarea, and where the Lord gave him the vision of the sheet let down from heaven to prepare him for his work among the Gentiles.
Simon lived in Joppa where he was known well enough for his street and number to be known. Even people in overlooked or dangerous places are known to God and His angels. Simon is identified as a tanner living in Joppa who wanted the truth.
Peter's Stay and Next Mission
After Dorcas or Tabitha was restored to life and many believed on the Lord, Peter stayed a long time in Joppa to build on and strengthen that work. He supplemented the miracles at Lydda and Joppa and the resulting conversions by remaining in Joppa for an extended time to follow up the work. That lodging was for many days with Simon a tanner, in the place where Tabitha had been raised and from which he would later be called to Cornelius in Caesarea.
The stay gave him time for rest, meditation, and prayer on the rooftop by the sea, and he gained strength and inspiration for later work in the early church. The tarrying at Joppa was part of God leading His witnesses step by step into just the experience best for His purpose. It gave an experience entirely different from Lydda, designed to meet the needs of that locality, while God was preparing still another experience to meet the needs of the people to whom Peter would next go and to enlarge his own view of the scope of the gospel.
Because Jews regarded tanning as an abominable trade, staying with Simon shows departing from Jewish customs that conflicted with the spirit of Christianity, showing that the gospel and its workers do not respect persons. The verse places Peter in Joppa for many days before the account of Cornelius, whom God directs to Peter to learn the way of life, with Joppa as the place where Cornelius sent for him from Caesarea. It is an example of God working through human messengers alongside heavenly agencies.
During that extended stay Peter received on the housetop the vision of the great sheet let down by four corners containing all manner of fourfooted beasts and creeping things and birds of heaven, with the voice saying to rise, kill and eat and that what God has cleansed should not be made common. The vision does not mean that every living creature should be eaten, for the lessons of the Spirit are spiritual. It taught Peter and all the apostles a lesson they had failed to learn though often repeated before, that no man should be called common or unclean and that to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance unto life, as Peter declared at the house of Cornelius two days afterward and as the brethren at Jerusalem confessed.
Close of Seventy Weeks
The stay at Joppa falls within the account of the apostles beginning to carry out Christ's commission to preach the gospel to the Gentiles after the seventieth week. It belongs to the time when the gospel was given to the Gentiles in A.D. 34 at the close of the 490 years when the Jewish nation was cut off as God's special people.
It falls within the period when God gave the apostle Paul his commission to the Gentiles, after the Jewish leaders formally rejected Christ by persecuting His disciples. This marks the close of the seventy weeks in A.D. 34. Its chapter is connected with the opening of that work through Saul's conversion and commission to the Gentiles. It places Peter in Joppa, where the events leading to the opening of the gospel work among the Gentiles would follow.
It stands at the close of the seventy weeks in A.D. 34, after Christ confirmed the covenant by His own three-and-a-half-year ministry. He was crucified in the midst of the last week in A.D. 31, causing effectual sacrifice and oblation to cease, and the apostles continued ministry to the Jews for the last half-week. It belongs with the martyrdom of Stephen, the scattering of the disciples in the persecution that followed, and the raising up of Paul as apostle to the Gentiles. Together these mark the second rejection of Christ and the end of the 490 years.
After Tabitha was raised to life and many believed, Peter remained a long time in Joppa lodging with Simon the tanner whose house was by the sea. The extended stay strengthened the new believers and gave Peter time for rest, meditation and prayer in preparation for the work next set before him. Lodging with a tanner, whose trade Jews despised as unclean, shows that the gospel and its workers do not respect persons. During that stay he saw on the housetop the sheet let down with all manner of beasts and heard that what God has cleansed should not be called common, which taught that no man should be called common or unclean and that to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance unto life. The stay stands at the close of the seventy weeks in A.D. 34, when the gospel went to the Gentiles after Christ's covenant was confirmed and the Jewish nation was cut off, opening the work through Saul's commission and through Cornelius sending from Caesarea to Joppa for Peter.
Words and Setting in Joppa
The many days of the stay show that the Greek word hemera means a full day of twenty-four hours embracing both night and day. They belong with the texts in which periods of days are specified or a succession of days is mentioned, where day stands for the entire twenty-four hours. The verse places Peter lodging for many days in Joppa with Simon a tanner, whose house was by the sea. Most of the town is situated close to the water's edge, on a low, rocky promontory extending a short distance into the sea.
The traditional site of Simon's house in Joppa is still located and shown as the house where Peter stayed. The discovery of ancient tanning vats near the traditionally identified house supports the possibility that this was where Simon lived and where Peter was lodging when he saw his vision. Joppa was also where he restored Tabitha to life and later received the vision that sent him to Cornelius in Caesarea. The lodging in Joppa placed Peter where he raised Dorcas to life and where Cornelius sent for him from Caesarea, and where the Lord gave him the vision of the sheet let down from heaven to prepare him for his work among the Gentiles.
Simon lived in Joppa where he was known well enough for his street and number to be known. Even people in overlooked or dangerous places are known to God and His angels. Simon is identified as a tanner living in Joppa who wanted the truth.
Peter's Stay and Next Mission
After Dorcas or Tabitha was restored to life and many believed on the Lord, Peter stayed a long time in Joppa to build on and strengthen that work. He supplemented the miracles at Lydda and Joppa and the resulting conversions by remaining in Joppa for an extended time to follow up the work. That lodging was for many days with Simon a tanner, in the place where Tabitha had been raised and from which he would later be called to Cornelius in Caesarea.
The stay gave him time for rest, meditation, and prayer on the rooftop by the sea, and he gained strength and inspiration for later work in the early church. The tarrying at Joppa was part of God leading His witnesses step by step into just the experience best for His purpose. It gave an experience entirely different from Lydda, designed to meet the needs of that locality, while God was preparing still another experience to meet the needs of the people to whom Peter would next go and to enlarge his own view of the scope of the gospel.
Because Jews regarded tanning as an abominable trade, staying with Simon shows departing from Jewish customs that conflicted with the spirit of Christianity, showing that the gospel and its workers do not respect persons. The verse places Peter in Joppa for many days before the account of Cornelius, whom God directs to Peter to learn the way of life, with Joppa as the place where Cornelius sent for him from Caesarea. It is an example of God working through human messengers alongside heavenly agencies.
During that extended stay Peter received on the housetop the vision of the great sheet let down by four corners containing all manner of fourfooted beasts and creeping things and birds of heaven, with the voice saying to rise, kill and eat and that what God has cleansed should not be made common. The vision does not mean that every living creature should be eaten, for the lessons of the Spirit are spiritual. It taught Peter and all the apostles a lesson they had failed to learn though often repeated before, that no man should be called common or unclean and that to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance unto life, as Peter declared at the house of Cornelius two days afterward and as the brethren at Jerusalem confessed.
Close of Seventy Weeks
The stay at Joppa falls within the account of the apostles beginning to carry out Christ's commission to preach the gospel to the Gentiles after the seventieth week. It belongs to the time when the gospel was given to the Gentiles in A.D. 34 at the close of the 490 years when the Jewish nation was cut off as God's special people.
It falls within the period when God gave the apostle Paul his commission to the Gentiles, after the Jewish leaders formally rejected Christ by persecuting His disciples. This marks the close of the seventy weeks in A.D. 34. Its chapter is connected with the opening of that work through Saul's conversion and commission to the Gentiles. It places Peter in Joppa, where the events leading to the opening of the gospel work among the Gentiles would follow.
It stands at the close of the seventy weeks in A.D. 34, after Christ confirmed the covenant by His own three-and-a-half-year ministry. He was crucified in the midst of the last week in A.D. 31, causing effectual sacrifice and oblation to cease, and the apostles continued ministry to the Jews for the last half-week. It belongs with the martyrdom of Stephen, the scattering of the disciples in the persecution that followed, and the raising up of Paul as apostle to the Gentiles. Together these mark the second rejection of Christ and the end of the 490 years.