Dorkas is the Greek equivalent of the Aramaic name Tabitha, both meaning 'gazelle.' She was a disciple in Joppa, 'always doing good and helping the poor' (Acts 9:36), who died and was raised from the dead by Peter — one of the two resurrection miracles performed by an apostle in Acts.
Dorcas/Tabitha represents the practical theology of mercy ministry. Her testimony is not a list of doctrinal positions but garments she made for widows — the living evidence of grace working through willing hands. When she dies, the weeping widows show Peter the coats and garments she had made. Her resurrection becomes an evangelistic event: 'This became known all over Joppa, and many people believed in the Lord' (Acts 9:42). Dorcas teaches that faithful service to the poor is not separate from the gospel — it is the gospel made visible. Her name, Gazelle, is beautifully fitting: graceful, quick, gentle in movement.