Matthew 17

Locations

The chapter opens six days after the events of the previous chapter, which take place in the region of Caesarea Philippi, near the southwestern base of Mount Hermon. Matthew in verse states that Jesus must go to Jerusalem, but this journey does not properly begin until . With Peter, James and John, he goes to a high mountain, traditionally understood and commemorated as Mount Tabor, where he is transfigured. Mount Tabor is in the south of Galilee. By verse 14 they have returned to a location where the crowd is gathered, verse 22 notes that they are still in Galilee, and in verse 24 they have returned to Capernaum at the northern end of the Sea of Galilee.

James Burton Coffman suggests that the location of the transfiguration would have been either Mount Hermon, closer to Caesarea Philippi, "or one of its adjacent peaks": "Mount Tabor, in the days of Christ and the apostles was populated and had a fortress on top of it; and Christ's taking his apostles there would not have been taking them 'apart', as Matthew said" (Matthew 17:1 in the King James Version), nor was Mount Tabor a particularly "high" mountain.

Text

The original text was written in Koine Greek. This chapter is divided into 27 verses.

Textual witnesses

Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter are:

• Codex Vaticanus (AD 325–350; no verse 21)
• Codex Sinaiticus (330–360; no verse 21)
• Codex Bezae ( 400; complete)
• Codex Washingtonianus ( 400; complete)
• Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus ( 450; extant verses 1–25)
• Codex Purpureus Rossanensis (6th century)
• Codex Sinopensis (6th century; extant verses 2–24)
• Papyrus 44 (6th/7th century; extant verses 1–3, 6–7)

Chapter organisation

The New King James Version organises this chapter as follows:

• Jesus transfigured on the Mount ()
• A Boy is Healed ()
• Jesus Again Predicts His Death and Resurrection ()
• Peter and His Master Pay Their Taxes ()

Transfiguration of Jesus (17:1–8)

Main article: Transfiguration of Jesus

The first eight verses of this chapter record the account of the Transfiguration of Jesus, an event where Jesus is transfigured and becomes radiant in glory on top of a mountain. The passage has parallels in other Synoptic Gospels— and —and the event is referred to in the Second Epistle of Peter () as well as possibly alluded in the first chapter of the Gospel of John (John 1:14).

Verse 1

:Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves. In Luke's gospel, the account of the transfiguration of Jesus comes about eight days after the previous events. Protestant theologian Heinrich Meyer notes, in accordance with the observations of "Chrysostom, Jerome, Theophylact, Erasmus, and many others ... that Luke has included the dies a quo and ad quem" (i.e. inclusive of the days at the start and end of the interval).

Verse 2

:And He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. Some versions state "white as snow" rather than "white as the light". The Jerusalem Bible notes that the angel of the resurrection in Matthew 28:3 wore a robe which was "white as snow".

Verse 3

:Suddenly there appeared to them Moses and Elijah, talking with him. Moses and Elijah are the only figures in the Old Testament who speak with God on Mount Sinai: see Exodus 33:11 and 1 Kings 19:8–18. Dale Allison comments that "their presence together makes us think of that mountain".

Verses 14–21

Main article: Exorcising a boy possessed by a demon

{{Anchor|Coin in the fish's mouth|Verses 24–27}}Coin in the fish's mouth (17:24–27)

Main article: Coin in the fish's mouth

The coin in the fish's mouth is one of the miracles of Jesus, told in .

The four-drachma (or shekel) coin would be exactly enough to pay the temple tax (a two-drachma coin) for two people. It is usually thought to be a Tyrian shekel.

References

Sources

References

1. Nicoll, W. R. (1897ff), [https://biblehub.com/commentaries/egt/matthew/17.htm The Expositor's Greek Testament] on Matthew 17, accessed 6 December 2022
2. [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15019a.htm Catholic Encyclopedia: Location of the Transfiguration], accessed 27 January 2017
3. Benson, J. (1857), [https://biblehub.com/commentaries/benson/matthew/17.htm Benson Commentary: Matthew 17], accessed 7 March 2021
4. Coffman, J. B. (1992), [https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/bcc.html?book=2pe&chapter=001 Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible: 2 Peter 1], accessed 7 March 2021
5. {{bibleverse. Matthew. 17:1. NKJV: NKJV
6. Meyer, H. A. W., [https://biblehub.com/commentaries/meyer/matthew/17.htm Meyer's NT Commentary] on Matthew 17, accessed 19 September 2019
7. {{bibleverse. Matthew. 17:2. NKJV: NKJV
8. {{bibleverse. Matthew. 17:2. DRA: [[Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition]]
9. [http://catholicbible.online/knox/NT/Mat/ch_17 The Holy Bible – Knox Translation], Matthew 17, accessed 6 December 2022
10. Jerusalem Bible (1966), footnote b at Matthew 17:2
11. {{bibleverse. Matthew. 17:3. NRSVA: [[New Revised Standard Version]]
12. Allison, D., ''56. Matthew'', in Barton, J. and Muddiman, J. (2001), [https://b-ok.org/dl/946961/8f5f43 The Oxford Bible Commentary], p. 866.
13. Daniel J. Scholz (2009), ''Introducing the New Testament'', {{ISBN. 0-88489-955-1, p. 86.
14. Steven L. Cox, Kendell H Easley, 2007 Harmony of the Gospels, {{ISBN. 0-8054-9444-8, p. 349.
15. [[Herbert Lockyer]], ''All the Miracles of the Bible'' (Zondervan, 1988), p. 219.
16. [[Craig S. Keener. Keener, Craig S.]], 2009, ''The Gospel of Matthew: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary'', Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, {{ISBN
17. "The coin in the fish's mouth". Coins Weekly.
18. (2002). "The Pocket Guide to Saint Paul: Coins Encountered by the Apostle on His Travels". [[Wakefield Press (Australia).