Discovery Box2 Peter 1:16-18 
Context1:16 For we did not follow cleverly concocted fables when we made known to you the power and return 1 of our Lord Jesus Christ; 2 no, 3 we were 4 eyewitnesses of his 5 grandeur. 6 1:17 For he received honor and glory from God the Father, when that 7 voice was conveyed to him by the Majestic Glory: “This is my dear Son, in whom I am delighted.” 8 1:18 When this voice was conveyed from heaven, we ourselves 9 heard it, for we were with him on the holy mountain. 10
1 tn Grk “coming.”
2 tn Grk “for we did not make known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ by following cleverly concocted fables.”
3 tn Grk “but, instead.”
4 tn Grk “became.”
5 tn Grk “that one’s.” That is, “eyewitnesses of the grandeur of that one.” The remote demonstrative pronoun is used perhaps to indicate esteem for Jesus. Along these lines it is interesting to note that “the Pythagoreans called their master after his death simply ἐκεῖνος” as a term of reverence and endearment (BDAG 302 s.v. ἐκεῖνος a.γ).
6 sn The term grandeur was used most frequently of God’s majesty. In the 1st century, it was occasionally used of the divine majesty of the emperor. 2 Pet 1:1 and 1:11 already include hints of a polemic against emperor-worship (in that “God and Savior” and “Lord and Savior” were used of the emperor).
7 tn Grk “such a.” The pronoun τοιᾶσδε (toiasde) most likely refers to what follows, connoting something of the uniqueness of the proclamation.
8 tn The verb εὐδόκησα (eudokhsa) in collocation with εἰς ὅν (ei" Jon) could either mean “in whom I am well-pleased, delighted” (in which case the preposition functions like ἐν [en]), or “on whom I have set my favor.”
sn This is my beloved Son, in whom I am delighted alludes to the Transfiguration. However, the author’s version is markedly different from the synoptic accounts (in particular his introductory phrase, “when that voice was conveyed to him,” an unusual expression [perhaps used to avoid naming God directly as the one who spoke from heaven]). The most natural explanation for such differences is that he was unaware of the exact wording of the Gospels. This is, of course, easier to explain if 2 Peter is authentic than if it is a late document, written in the 2nd century.
9 tn The “we” in v. 18 is evidently exclusive, that is, it refers to Peter and the other apostles.
10 tn 2 Pet 1:17-18 comprise one sentence in Greek, with the main verb “heard” in v. 18. All else is temporally subordinate to that statement. Hence, more literally these verses read as follows: “For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, when that voice was conveyed to him by the Majestic Glory: ‘This is my beloved Son, in whom I am delighted,’ we ourselves heard this voice when it was conveyed from heaven, when we were with him on the holy mountain.”
