Luke 9:29-36

9:29 As¹ he was praying,² the appearance of his face was transformed,³ and his clothes became very bright, a brilliant white.⁴ 9:30 Then⁵ two men, Moses and Elijah,⁶ began talking with him.⁷ 9:31 They appeared in glorious splendor and spoke about his departure⁸ that he was about to carry out⁹ at Jerusalem.¹⁰ 9:32 Now Peter and those with him were quite sleepy,¹¹ but as they became fully awake,¹² they saw his glory and the two men standing with him. 9:33 Then¹³ as the men¹⁴ were starting to leave,¹⁵ Peter said to Jesus, “Master, it is good for us to be here. Let us make three shelters,¹⁶ one for you and one for Moses and one for Elijah” – not knowing what he was saying. 9:34 As¹⁷ he was saying this, a cloud¹⁸ came¹⁹ and overshadowed²⁰ them, and they were afraid as they entered the cloud. 9:35 Then²¹ a voice came from the cloud, saying, “This is my Son, my Chosen One.²² Listen to him!”²³ 9:36 After²⁴ the voice had spoken, Jesus was found alone. So²⁵ they kept silent and told no one²⁶ at that time²⁷ anything of what they had seen.

¹tn Grk “And as.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

²tn Here the preposition ἐν (en) plus the dative articular aorist infinitive has been translated as a temporal clause (ExSyn 595).

³tn Or “the appearance of his face became different.”

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 the appearance of his face transformed, 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).

⁴tn 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).

⁵tn 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).

⁶sn 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).

⁷tn 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.

⁸tn 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.

⁹tn Or “accomplish,” “bring to completion.”

¹⁰map For location see Map5-B1; Map6-F3; Map7-E2; Map8-F2; Map10-B3; JP1-F4; JP2-F4; JP3-F4; JP4-F4.

¹¹tn Grk “weighed down with sleep” (an idiom).

¹²tn Or “after they became fully awake,” “but they became fully awake and saw.”

¹³tn 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.

¹⁴tn Grk “as they”; the referent (“the men,” referring to Moses and Elijah) has been specified in the translation for clarity.

¹⁵tn Grk “to leave from him.”

¹⁶tn Or “booths,” “dwellings” (referring to the temporary booths constructed in the celebration of the feast of Tabernacles).

sn By making three shelters Peter apparently wanted to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles or Booths that looked forward to the end and to treat Moses, Elijah, and Jesus as equals. It was actually a way of expressing honor to Jesus, but the remark at the end of the verse makes it clear that it was not enough honor.

¹⁷tn Here δέ (de) has not been translated.

¹⁸sn This cloud is the cloud of God’s presence and the voice is his as well.

¹⁹tn Or “appeared.”

²⁰tn Or “surrounded.”

²¹tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

²²tc Most mss, especially the later ones, have ἀγαπητός (agaphto", “the one I love”; A C* W Ë¹³ 33 Ï it), or ἀγαπητὸς ἐν ᾧ (ἠ)υδόκησα (agaphto" en |w (h)udokhsa, “the one I love, in whom I am well pleased”; C³ D Ψ pc) here, instead of ἐκλελεγμένος (eklelegmeno", “the Chosen One”), but these variants are probably assimilations to Matt 17:5 and Mark 9:7. The text behind the translation also enjoys excellent support from Ì^45,75 א B L Ξ (579) 892 1241 pc co.

tn The participle ὁ ἐκλελεγμένος (Jo eklelegmeno"), which could be translated “the One who has been chosen,” is best understood as a title rather than a descriptive phrase, probably deriving from Isa 42:1 (LXX) which uses the similar ὁ ἐκλεκτός (Jo eklekto") which also appears in Luke 23:35.

sn This divine endorsement is like Luke 3:22 at Jesus’ baptism. One difference here is the mention of the Chosen One, a reference to the unique and beloved role of the regal, messianic Son.

²³sn 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.

²⁴tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

²⁵tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the concluding summary of the account.

²⁶sn 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.

²⁷tn Grk “in those days.”