It is impossible to conclude exactly what meal was being prepared: the Romans ate a meal around noon, but the main meal of the Jewish people was eaten in the late afternoon. In any case, the fact that Peter became hungry was what prepared him for the vision. Whereas the Jews would say “a trance came upon someone,” the nearest English equivalent would be to say “he fell into a trance” (see New English Bible, Revised Standard Version, Phillips). The Good News Translation renders “a trance fell on him” by he had a vision. This is done inasmuch as in the context the emphasis is not so much on the state of Peter (as in a trance or in ecstasy) as it is upon what he saw (that is, a vision).

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on The Acts of the Apostles. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1972. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .