Luke 9:30

Then ¹  two men, Moses and Elijah, ²  began talking with him. ³ 

Mt 17:3,4; Mr 9:4-6; Lu 1:17; Lu 9:19; Lu 24:27,44; Joh 1:17; Ro 3:21-23; 2Co 3:7-11; Heb 3:3-6; Jas 5:17,18

¹ 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).

² 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).

³ 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.