'And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John
his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain
apart, 2. And was transfigured before them: and His
face did shine as the sun, and His raiment was white as
the light. 3. And, behold, there appeared unto them
Moses and Elias talking with Him. 4. Then answered
Peter, and said unto Jesus. Lord, it is good for us
to be here: if Thou wilt, let us make here three
tabernacles; one for Thee, and one for Moses, and one
for Elias. 5. While he yet spake, behold, a bright
cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the
cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am
well pleased; hear ye Him. 6. And when the disciples
heard it, they fell on their face, and were sore afraid.
7. And Jesus came and touched them, and said, Arise,
and be not afraid. 8. And when they had lifted up their
eyes, they saw no man, save Jesus only. 9. And as they
came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying,
Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of Man be risen
again from the dead. 10. And His disciples asked Him,
saying, Why then say the scribes that Elias must first
come? 11. And Jesus answered and said unto them, Elias
truly shall first come, and restore all things. 12. But
I say unto you, That Elias is come already, and they
knew him not, but have done unto him whatsoever they
listed. Likewise shall also the Son of Man suffer of
them. 13. Then the disciples understood that He spake
unto them of John the Baptist.'--MATT. xvii. 1-13.
The early guess at Tabor as the scene of the Transfiguration must be
given up as untenable. Some one of the many peaks of Hermon rising
right over Caesarea is a far more likely place. But the silence of
all the accounts as to the locality surely teaches us the
unimportance of knowledge on the point. The dangers of knowing would
more than outweigh the advantages. A similar indefiniteness attaches
to the _when_. Are we to think of it as occurring by night, or
by day? Perhaps the former is slightly the more probable, from the
fact of the descent being made 'the next day' (Luke). Our conception
of the scene will be very different, as we think of that lustre from
His face, and that bright cloud, as outshining the blaze of a Syrian
sun, or as filling the night with glory. But we cannot settle which
view is correct.
There are three distinct parts in the whole incident: the
Transfiguration proper; the appearance of Moses and Elijah; and the
cloud with the voice from it.