Luke 9:28

The Transfiguration

9:28 Now 1  about eight days 2  after these sayings, Jesus 3  took with him Peter, John, and James, and went up the mountain to pray.

Luke 9:54

9:54 Now when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do you want us to call fire to come down from heaven and consume 4  them?” 5 

Luke 24:10

24:10 Now it was Mary Magdalene, 6  Joanna, 7  Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told these things to the apostles.

1 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.

2 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.

3 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

4 tn Or “destroy.”

5 tc Most mss, especially the later ones (A C D W Θ Ψ Ë1,13 33 Ï it), read here “as also Elijah did,” making the allusion to 2 Kgs 1:10, 12, 14 more explicit. The shorter reading has better and earlier support (Ì45,75 א B L Ξ 579 700* 1241 pc lat sa). It is difficult to explain how the shorter reading could have arisen from the longer, especially since it is well represented early on. However, the longer reading looks to have been a marginal note originally, incorporated into the text of Luke by early scribes.

sn An allusion to 2 Kgs 1:10, 12, 14.

6 sn Mary Magdalene is always noted first in the appearance lists in the gospels. It is unusual that the first appearance would involve women as in this culture their role as witnesses would not be well accepted. It is a sign of the veracity of the account, because if an ancient were to create such a story he would never have it start with women.

7 sn On Joanna see Luke 8:1-3.