Acts 10:10

Very hungry. Apparently Peter was not fasting, for he intended to eat. His noonday hunger prepared him for the command to eat, which was to be given him in connection with his vision. Coming under these circumstances, the command was particularly forceful.

Would have eaten. Literally, “was wishing to eat,” or “began to want to eat.”

A trance. Greek ekstasis, “a standing aside,” and by extension, a displacement of the mind from its normal environment. The English word “ecstasy” is derived from ekstasis.

Luke uses this word again for Paul’s vision in the Temple. This word is employed in the LXX to describe the deep sleep of Abraham. It represents a state in which the normal action of the senses is suspended, so that the vision is seen only mentally, as in a dream. Peter’s ekstasis provided a channel for a revelation of the divine will.