Easton's Bible Dictionary (Gr. ekstasis, from which the word "ecstasy" is derived) denotes the state of one who is "out of himself." Such were the trances of Peter and Paul, Acts 10:10; 11:5; 22:17, ecstasies, "a preternatural, absorbed state of mind preparing for the reception of the vision", (Comp. 2 Corinthians 12:1-4). In Mark 5:42 and Luke 5:26 the Greek word is rendered "astonishment," "amazement" (Comp. Mark 16:8; Acts 3:10). Noah Webster's Dictionary 1. (n.) A tedious journey. 2. (n.) A state in which the soul seems to have passed out of the body into another state of being, or to be rapt into visions; an ecstasy. 3. (n.) A condition, often simulating death, in which there is a total suspension of the power of voluntary movement, with abolition of all evidences of mental activity and the reduction to a minimum of all the vital functions so that the patient lies still and apparently unconscious of surrounding objects, while the pulsation of the heart and the breathing, although still present, are almost or altogether imperceptible. 4. (v. t.) To entrance. 5. (v. t.) To pass over or across; to traverse. 6. (v. i.) To pass; to travel. Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia TRANCE trans (ekstasis): The condition expressed by this word is a mental state in which the person affected is partially or wholly unconscious of objective sensations, but intensely alive to subjective impressions which, however they may be originated, are felt as if they were revelations from without. They may take the form of visual or auditory sensations or else of impressions of taste, smell, heat or cold, and sometimes these conditions precede epileptic seizures constituting what is named the aura epileptica. The word occurs 5 times in the King James Version, twice in the story of Balaam (Numbers 24:4, 16), twice in the history of Peter (Acts 10:10; Acts 11:5), and once in that of Paul (Acts 22:17). In the Balaam story the word is of the nature of a gloss rather than a translation, as the Hebrew naphal means simply "to fall down" and is translated accordingly in the Revised Version (British and American). Here Septuagint has en hupno, "in sleep" (see SLEEP, DEEP). In Peter's vision on the housetop at Joppa he saw the sail (othone) descending from heaven, and heard a voice. Paul's trance was also one of both sight and sound. The vision on the Damascus road (Acts 9:3-9) and that recorded in 2 Corinthians 12:2-4 were also cases of trance, as were the prophetic ecstasies of Saul, Daniel and Elisha, and the condition of John in which he says that he was "in the Spirit" (Revelation 1:10). The border line between trance and dream is indefinite: the former occurs while one is, in a sense, awake; the latter takes place in the passage from sleep to wakefulness. The dream as well as the vision were supposed of old to be channels of revelation (Job 33:15). In Shakespearean English, "trance" means a dream (Taming of the Shrew, I, i, 182), or simply a bewilderment (Lucrece, 1595). In the phenomena of hypnotic suggestion, sometimes affecting a number of persons simultaneously we have conditions closely allied to trance, and doubtless some of the well-authenticated phantom appearances are similar subjective projections from the mind affecting the visual and auditory centers of the brain. Alex. Macalister

Multi-Version Concordance Trance (7 Occurrences) Acts 10:10 He became hungry and desired to eat, but while they were preparing, he fell into a trance. (WEB KJV WEY ASV WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV) Acts 11:5 "I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision: a certain container descending, like it was a great sheet let down from heaven by four corners. It came as far as me. (WEB KJV WEY ASV WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV) Acts 22:17 "It happened that, when I had returned to Jerusalem, and while I prayed in the temple, I fell into a trance, (WEB KJV WEY ASV WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV) Numbers 24:4 He hath said, which heard the words of God, which saw the vision of the Almighty, falling into a trance, but having his eyes open: (KJV WBS) Numbers 24:16 He hath said, which heard the words of God, and knew the knowledge of the most High, which saw the vision of the Almighty, falling into a trance, but having his eyes open: (KJV WBS) Daniel 8:18 And in his speaking with me, I have been in a trance on my face, on the earth; and he cometh against me, and causeth me to stand on my station, (YLT) Daniel 10:9 And I hear the voice of his words, and when I hear the voice of his words, then I have been in a trance on my face, and my face 'is' to the earth; (YLT)