Discovery BoxMark 9:2-13
Context9:2 Six days later 1 Jesus took with him Peter, James, and John and led them alone up a high mountain privately. And he was transfigured before them, 2 9:3 and his clothes became radiantly white, more so than any launderer in the world could bleach them. 9:4 Then Elijah appeared before them along with Moses, 3 and they were talking with Jesus. 9:5 So 4 Peter said to Jesus, 5 “Rabbi, it is good for us to be here. Let us make three shelters 6 – one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” 9:6 (For they were afraid, and he did not know what to say.) 7 9:7 Then 8 a cloud 9 overshadowed them, 10 and a voice came from the cloud, “This is my one dear Son. 11 Listen to him!” 12 9:8 Suddenly when they looked around, they saw no one with them any more except Jesus.
9:9 As they were coming down from the mountain, he gave them orders not to tell anyone what they had seen until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead. 9:10 They kept this statement to themselves, discussing what this rising from the dead meant.
9:11 Then 13 they asked him, 14 “Why do the experts in the law 15 say that Elijah must come first?” 9:12 He said to them, “Elijah does indeed come first, and restores all things. And why is it written that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be despised? 9:13 But I tell you that Elijah has certainly come, and they did to him whatever they wanted, just as it is written about him.”
Luke 9:28-36
Context9:28 Now 16 about eight days 17 after these sayings, Jesus 18 took with him Peter, John, and James, and went up the mountain to pray. 9:29 As 19 he was praying, 20 the appearance of his face was transformed, 21 and his clothes became very bright, a brilliant white. 22 9:30 Then 23 two men, Moses and Elijah, 24 began talking with him. 25 9:31 They appeared in glorious splendor and spoke about his departure 26 that he was about to carry out 27 at Jerusalem. 28 9:32 Now Peter and those with him were quite sleepy, 29 but as they became fully awake, 30 they saw his glory and the two men standing with him. 9:33 Then 31 as the men 32 were starting to leave, 33 Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us make three shelters, 34 one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah” – not knowing what he was saying. 9:34 As 35 he was saying this, a cloud 36 came 37 and overshadowed 38 them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. 9:35 Then 39 a voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, my Chosen One. 40 Listen to him!” 41 9:36 After 42 the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. So 43 they kept silent and told no one 44 at that time 45 anything of what they had seen.
[9:2] 1 tn Grk “And after six days.”
[9:2] 2 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).
[9:4] 3 sn Commentators and scholars discuss why Moses and Elijah are present. The most likely explanation is that Moses represents the prophetic office (Acts 3:18-22) and Elijah pictures the presence of the last days (Mal 4:5-6), the prophet of the eschaton (the end times).
[9:5] 4 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
[9:5] 5 tn Grk “And answering, Peter said to Jesus.” The participle ἀποκριθείς (apokriqeis) is redundant and has not been translated.
[9:5] 6 tn Or “dwellings,” “booths” (referring to the temporary booths constructed in the celebration of the feast of Tabernacles).
[9:6] 7 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.
[9:7] 8 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
[9:7] 9 sn This cloud is the cloud of God’s presence and the voice is his as well.
[9:7] 10 tn Grk “And there came a cloud, surrounding them.”
[9:7] 11 tn Grk “my beloved Son,” or “my Son, the beloved [one].” The force of ἀγαπητός (agaphtos) is often “pertaining to one who is the only one of his or her class, but at the same time is particularly loved and cherished” (L&N 58.53; cf. also BDAG 7 s.v. 1).
[9:7] 12 sn The expression listen to him comes from Deut 18:15 and makes two points: 1) Jesus is a prophet like Moses, a leader-prophet, and 2) they have much yet to learn from him.
[9:11] 13 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
[9:11] 14 tn Grk “And they were asking him, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant and has not been translated.
[9:11] 15 tn Or “Why do the scribes.” See the note on the phrase “experts in the law” in 1:22.
[9:28] 16 tn Grk “Now it happened that about.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated.
[9:28] 17 tn Matt 17:1 and Mark 9:2 specify the interval more exactly, saying it was the sixth day. Luke uses ὡσεί (Jwsei, “about”) to give an approximate reference.
[9:28] 18 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[9:29] 19 tn Grk “And as.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
[9:29] 20 tn Here the preposition ἐν (en) plus the dative articular aorist infinitive has been translated as a temporal clause (ExSyn 595).
[9:29] 21 tn Or “the appearance of his face became different.”
[9:29] 22 tn Or “became bright as a flash of lightning” (cf. BDAG 346 s.v. ἐξαστράπτω); or “became brilliant as light” (cf. BDAG 593 s.v. λευκός 1).
[9:30] 23 tn Grk “And behold.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style. The Greek word ἰδού (idou) at the beginning of this statement has not been translated because it has no exact English equivalent here, but adds interest and emphasis (BDAG 468 s.v. 1).
[9:30] 24 sn Commentators and scholars discuss why Moses and Elijah are present. The most likely explanation is that Moses represents the prophetic office (Acts 3:18-22) and Elijah pictures the presence of the last days (Mal 4:5-6), the prophet of the eschaton (the end times).
[9:30] 25 tn Grk “two men were talking with him, who were Moses and Elijah.” The relative clause has been simplified to an appositive and transposed in keeping with contemporary English style.
[9:31] 26 tn Grk “his exodus,” which refers to Jesus’ death in Jerusalem and journey back to glory. Here is the first lesson that the disciples must learn. The wondrous rule comes only after suffering.
[9:31] 27 tn Or “accomplish,” “bring to completion.”
[9:31] 28 map For location see Map5 B1; Map6 F3; Map7 E2; Map8 F2; Map10 B3; JP1 F4; JP2 F4; JP3 F4; JP4 F4.
[9:32] 29 tn Grk “weighed down with sleep” (an idiom).
[9:32] 30 tn Or “after they became fully awake,” “but they became fully awake and saw.”
[9:33] 31 tn Grk “And it happened that as.” The introductory phrase ἐγένετο (egeneto, “it happened that”), common in Luke (69 times) and Acts (54 times), is redundant in contemporary English and has not been translated. Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
[9:33] 32 tn Grk “as they”; the referent (“the men,” referring to Moses and Elijah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
[9:33] 33 tn Grk “to leave from him.”
[9:33] 34 tn Or “booths,” “dwellings” (referring to the temporary booths constructed in the celebration of the feast of Tabernacles).
[9:34] 35 tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.
[9:34] 36 sn This cloud is the cloud of God’s presence and the voice is his as well.
[9:35] 39 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
[9:35] 40 tc Most
[9:35] 41 sn The expression listen to him comes from Deut 18:15 and makes two points: 1) Jesus is a prophet like Moses, a leader-prophet, and 2) they have much yet to learn from him.
[9:36] 42 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
[9:36] 43 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the concluding summary of the account.
[9:36] 44 sn Although the disciples told no one at the time, later they did recount this. The commentary on this scene is 2 Pet 1:17-18.
