The Transfiguration of Jesus: Narrative Meaning and Function of Mark 9:2–8, Matt 17:1–8 and Luke 9:28–36
Overview
This is the first monograph devoted to all three accounts of the transfiguration of Jesus from a narrative-critical, audience-oriented perspective. It proposes a new literary genre designation for all three versions, that a “pivotal mandatory epiphany,” based upon the precedents in Numbers 22:31–35, Joshua 5:13–15, and 2 Maccabees 3:22–34.
The background and meaning of each of the major motifs of the three accounts of the transfiguration is explained: Jesus is externally and temporarily transformed into a heavenly figure to anticipate his future attainment of heavenly glory and to enable him to speak with the heavenly figures of Moses and Elijah. Rather than symbols of the Law and the Prophets, Moses and Elijah represent prophetic figures who, in contrast to Jesus, attained heavenly glory without being put to death by their people. The three tents Peter wants to build have their background primarily in the Tent of Meeting as a place of divine communication. The cloud overshadows only Moses and Elijah; it has both a vehicular function of implicitly transporting Moses and Elijah back to heaven and an oracular function of providing the divine mandate that serves as the climax of the mandatory epiphany.
The climactic divine mandate to listen to Jesus as God’s Son refers primarily to the various predictions of his suffering, death and resurrection throughout the narrative. The “pivotal” nature of this divine mandate is confirmed by a demonstration of the narrative function of the transfiguration epiphany in relation to its preceding and succeeding contexts in each Gospel.
In the Logos edition, all Scripture passages in The Transfiguration of Jesus are tagged and appear on mouseover, and all Scripture passages link to your favorite Bible translation in your library. With Logos’ advanced features, you can perform powerful searches by topic or Scripture reference—finding, for example, every mention of “the glory of the Lord” or “resurrection.”
- Investigation of the stories of the transfiguration of Jesus in the Gospels of Mark, Matthew, and Luke
- Establishment of the narrative meaning and function of each version of the transfiguration story
- Analysis of the mysterious and enigmatic “transfiguration” of Jesus as a literary motif within the epiphany genre
Top Highlights
“the seeing by a privileged individual or group of supernatural phenomena located mainly in the heavenly realm” (Page 37)
“These two commands to silence impress upon the audience that the more profound character of Jesus as the Christ (16:16, 20) and Son of God (16:16; 17:5) cannot be fully understood until God has raised him from the dead (17:9).” (Page 224)
“The transfiguration narrative presents the Gospel audiences with a rather unique type of epiphany. It begins with an initial epiphanic action, the transfiguration of Jesus, closely coordinated with the epiphanic appearance of Moses and Elijah. The transfiguration of Jesus into a heavenly being enables him to converse, while still on earth, with the heavenly figures of Moses and Elijah.” (Page 44)
“Rather, these heavenly events take place on the mountain, independent of their being seen by the disciples” (Page 38)
“it is an external transformation effected by God in response to the praying of Jesus.” (Page 77)
- Title: The Transfiguration of Jesus: Narrative Meaning and Function of Mark 9:2–8, Matt 17:1–8 and Luke 9:28–36
- Author: John Paul Heil
- Publisher: Pontifical Biblical Institute
- Publication Date: 2000
- Pages: 361
Reviews
1 rating
Jamin Bradley
5/13/2019
A terrific book on a confusing subject! I especially love the section on heavenly beings. While it can be a bit repetitive since it rehashes the same story from different gospels, it is well thought out and deeply insightful.
