by Ptr. Art Calaguas
Shalom.
In Matthew 17:1-13 it is narrated that after 6 days from Caesarea Philippi, the Lord Jesus took only his disciples Simon Peter, John and James to a high mountain and there the Transfiguration happened.
The Transfiguration as narrated in Matthew has close parallels in Mark 9:2-13 and in Luke 9:28-36. In general the 3 Gospel accounts agree that the appearance of our Lord changed markedly; two other men appeared, identified as Moses and Elijah and they spoke with the Lord Jesus; Peter said that they should build tabernacles or temporary booths for the Lord, Moses and Elijah; there was an enveloping cloud; a voice from the cloud identified the Lord Jesus as the beloved son and told the 3 disciples to listen to him; when the cloud lifted, the Lord was alone; Moses and Elijah were gone.
Matthew 7:2 and Mark 9:2 both use the Greek verb μετεμορφώθη from μεταμορφόω (“metamorphoó” meaning to transform, to transfigure, to change; https://biblehub.com/greek/3339.htm). Μεταμορφόω is only found in 4 places in the entire New Testament (NT). The other 2 occurrences are in Romans 12:2 and 2 Corinthians 3:18; both written by the Apostle Paul. This Greek word is an origin of the English “metamorphosis;” exemplified by an adult butterfly emerging from the cocoon made by the pupa, which came from the larva; which started as an egg.
The Gospel of Luke did not use a word form of μεταμορφόω but describes the change in a similar way in complete agreement with Matthew’s and Mark’s versions. Luke 9:29 says the Lord’s face or countenance was altered (while Matthew says it shone like the sun) and agrees with both Matthew and Mark that his clothes became dazzling white. An interesting note from Luke 9:29 is his use of the Greek word ἕτερον from ἕτερος (“heteros” meaning the change he was describing was to another of a different or distinct kind; qualitatively different). The word is in contrast to ἄλλος (“allos” meaning another of the same kind; https://biblehub.com/greek/2087.htm and https://biblehub.com/greek/243.htm). From ἕτερος (“heteros”), we get some English words like “heterogeneous”.
The voice from the cloud is told very similarly in the 3 Gospel accounts. Matthew 17:5 and Mark 9:7 use the adjective ἀγαπητός (“agapétos” meaning beloved; https://biblehub.com/greek/27.htm). It is the same word used by the Synoptic Gospels in the narratives of the baptism of the Lord Jesus by John the Baptist in the Jordan River. This word is also used in a special way as a title of the Messiah. Luke 9:35 however, uses another word: ἐκλελεγμένος from the verb ἐκλέγομαι (“eklégomai” meaning a highly deliberate act of picking out for oneself, to choose; https://biblehub.com/greek/1586.htm). It seems the Gospel writer Luke combined the “beloved” and “in whom I am well pleased” phrases in the voice from the cloud in Matthew’s version with “whom I have chosen” to essentially mean the same thing for God’s Son.
Biblical scholars believe that the Apostle Peter spoke of the Lord’s Transfiguration, and he and the other 2 disciples as being eyewitnesses in his second epistle. 2 Peter 1:16-21, specifically verse 1:17 quotes God calling the Lord Jesus as “my Son, my beloved” with the same word ἀγαπητός (“agapétos”) and εὐδόκησα from εὐδοκέω (“eudokeó” meaning well-pleased; https://biblehub.com/greek/2106.htm) used in Matthew 17:5.
And now, we consider the appearance of Moses and Elijah and the role of Mt. Hermon in these parallel Gospel narratives.
As I wrote earlier in “Caesarea Philippi and the Gates of Hades,” Mt. Hermon is an alternative site for the Transfiguration while Mt. Tabor is the traditional site. Caesarea Philippi/Banias is 324 kilometers (km) away from Mt. Hermon. If one walks 40 km/day or more, it would roughly take 6 – 8 days to get to Mt. Hermon. Mt. Hermon is a high mountain, rising 2,814 meters above sea level. It is the highest peak in Israel. On the other hand, Mt. Tabor is just 94 km away from Caesarea Philippi/Banias, in the opposite direction. Mt. Tabor is not as high as Mt. Hermon; it is only 575 meters high.
In Matthew 17:1 it is narrated that after 6 days from Caesarea Philippi, the Lord Jesus and his disciples Simon Peter, James and his brother John came to a high mountain. The other disciples were not with them. Mark also says it took 6 days for the Lord to come to the high mountain and took along only the 3 disciples. Luke says that it took about 8 days for them to reach the place but says the same about only the 3 disciples accompanying the Lord to the mountain. The recorded journey time from these 3 Gospel writers then corresponds to the distance from Caesarea Philippi/Banias to Mt. Hermon. The imposing height of Mt. Hermon compared to Mt. Tabor also seems to better fit the “high mountain” description in the Gospels.
Biblical scholar and author Dr. Michael Heiser says that Mt. Tabor really has no written record about the Transfiguration until the 4th century AD and asserts that many scholars now believe Mt. Hermon was the actual site (Michael S. Heiser. “Chapter 32: Preeminent Domain” in The Unseen Realm – Recovering the Supernatural Worldview of the Bible [Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2015], 285-286). Dr. Heiser cites G. Mussies as his authority on this (See Gerard Mussies, “Tabor,” in Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible, 2nd extensively revised ed. [editors Karel van der Toorn, Bob Becking, and Pieter W. van der Horst; Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1999], 828. See also Wolfgang Rollig, “Hermon” in DDD, 411-412).
The big picture of the Kingdom of God attacking the gates of Hades and reclaiming all the territory, including this high mountain, for the ultimate redemption of mankind now comes into view. Mt. Hermon in the Bashan was enemy territory as we had seen earlier. The apocryphal book, 1 Enoch puts Mt. Hermon as ground zero for the rebellious messengers/angels who came to this place and took human females to sire the Nephilim (giants). The Lord was literally picking and taking the fight to enemy territory as he did a few days ago at Caesarea Philippi/Banias. Now at his Transfiguration, he was identifying himself fully not only to his 3 disciples who were with him, but also to the enemy. His witnesses were Moses, who represented the Torah and Elijah, who represented the Prophets. The Torah, Prophets and the Writings represent the 3 major divisions of the Hebrew Bible or what we call the Old Testament (OT). The Torah required 2 or 3 witnesses to decide upon an important matter. The Lord now had his 2 witnesses from the OT (Moses and Elijah), and 3 witnesses (Peter, James and John) for the NT for the matter that had been decided by his Father in the heavens. For this, all roads lead to the cross at Jerusalem. Our salvation through his atoning death was the chosen way of love for God’s beloved Son.
Next week, we will start with a new topic from Matthew’s Gospel.
God bless us all.
I’ve been working for several months on a study based upon Dr. Heiser’s 4-5 hour lecture covering his book, “Supernatural.” Fascinating work. I stumbled upon your article here. Thanks! By the way, yes, Mount Hermon is over 300 kms (about 200 miles) if you take the modern roads, but it is only 15 or so miles as the crow flies. Who knows what path was available 2,000 years ago?