Matthew 17:1-2

The Transfiguration

17:1 Six days later ¹  Jesus took with him Peter, James, and John the brother of James, ²  and led them privately up a high mountain. 17:2 And he was transfigured before them. ³  His ⁴  face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light.

[17:1]  ¹ tn Grk “And after six days.”

[17:1]  ² tn Grk “John his brother” with “his” referring to James.

[17:2]  ³ sn In 1st century Judaism and in the NT, there was the belief that the righteous get new, glorified bodies in order to enter heaven (1 Cor 15:42-49; 2 Cor 5:1-10). This transformation means the righteous will share the glory of God. One recalls the way Moses shared the Lord’s glory after his visit to the mountain in Exod 34. So the disciples saw Jesus transfigured, and they were getting a sneak preview of the great glory that Jesus would have (only his glory is more inherent to him as one who shares in the rule of the kingdom).

[17:2]  ⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.