1. Acts 9:38 (ESV)
  2. Exposition

Why did the disciples in Joppa send two men to go and speak with Peter?

Acts 9:38 (ESV)

38 Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, hearing that Peter was there, sent two men to him, urging him, “Please come to us without delay.”

It is not clear if the disciples wanted Peter to come and raise Dorcas from the dead, or if they wanted him to come and comfort them/lead the burial of their departed sister.1 In either case, the fact that they want him to come soon is because a body would quickly begin to decay in the heat of the day.2 Since burial normally took place before sunset, it may also imply that the death occurred in the night/early morning.3