One of the things that Moses received instructions for in his time with God was how to build the Tabernacle, a tent for the worship of Yahweh as the Hebrew people traveled in the wilderness. He tells Jesus that they should build “tabernacles,” one for each figure that they had seen. Peter’s response gives us a clue to this. Moses had been in such intense contact with God’s presence that he was radiating light ( Exodus 34:29-35). Randal Niles observes that the cultural cues are leaning toward the moment where Moses comes down from the mountain after receiving the ten commandments. Then he transfigured and they saw Moses and Elijah conversing with him. All of the versions share that this event began when Jesus took his closest disciples up on a mountain to pray. Understanding the Biblical context is difficult without certain cultural norms. This was an absolutely supernatural event with no other possible origin than God. The complete change, the obvious power emanating from Jesus, the meeting with Moses and Elijah, and the voice from heaven declaring the Father’s love for his son, Jesus. The other two instances of this word in the New Testament both normally translate it as “transform.”Įverything about this event would have been startling. To give you an idea of how complete the change is, this is the word that scientists use to describe the process that turns a caterpillar into a butterfly. It is where we get the English word “metamorphosis.” Of the passages that discuss the Transfiguration event, two of them ( Matthew 17:2 and Mark 9:2) use the Koine Greek word “ metamorphoo” which means to change from one form into another. A transfiguration is when something changes in a very notable way, usually from a lowly state into a much greater state.
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