Acts 9:43

And it came to pass, that he abode many days in Joppa with one Simon a tanner.

Luke did not relate exactly how long Peter continued to preach and spread the gospel in Joppa, his success being greatly augmented by the event of Dorcas being raised from the dead. The mention of the man with whom Peter made his home at Joppa was perhaps for the double purpose of showing (1) that a tanner was not considered beyond redemption, thus nullifying a Jewish concept which stressed the perpetual defilement of tanners because of their working continually with dead bodies, or portions of dead bodies; and (2) also for the sake of its bearing upon the event next to be related in Acts 10.