Discovery BoxLuke 9:16 
Context9:16 Then 1 he took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven he gave thanks 2 and broke them. He gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd.
Luke 9:29
Context9:29 As 3 he was praying, 4 the appearance of his face was transformed, 5 and his clothes became very bright, a brilliant white. 6
1 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
2 sn Gave thanks adds a note of gratitude to the setting. The scene is like two other later meals: Luke 22:19 and 24:30. Jesus gives thanks to God “with respect to” the provision of food. The disciples learn how Jesus is the mediator of blessing. John 6 speaks of him in this scene as picturing the “Bread of Life.”
3 tn Grk “And as.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.
4 tn Here the preposition ἐν (en) plus the dative articular aorist infinitive has been translated as a temporal clause (ExSyn 595).
5 tn 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).
6 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).
