Bible Strands
Matthew 17:2
There He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Jesus stands on a high mountain before Peter, James, and John after six days of travel, undergoing a visible transformation.
The words — μετεμορφώθη (metemorphōthē) means "He was transfigured," and ἔλαμψεν (elampsen) means "shone," describing the sudden change in His face and garments.
The thread — The radiant appearance of His face and white garments echoes the light imagery in Psalms 104:2 and reappears in Matthew 28:3 and Luke 9:29.
Why it lands — The text records a physical alteration of Jesus' appearance before three witnesses, asking the reader to acknowledge a divine intervention that precedes the appearance of Moses and Elijah.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.
Cross-references
- Psalms 104:2 He wraps Himself in light as with a garment; He stretches out the heavens like a tent,
- Matthew 28:3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow.
- Luke 9:29 And as He was praying, the appearance of His face changed, and His clothes became radiantly white.
- John 1:14 The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
- John 17:24 Father, I want those You have given Me to be with Me where I am, that they may see the glory You gave Me because You loved Me before the foundation of the world.
- Revelation 10:1 Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, wrapped in a cloud, with a rainbow above his head. His face was like the sun, and his legs were like pillars of fire.
- Revelation 20:11 Then I saw a great white throne and the One seated on it. Earth and heaven fled from His presence, and no place was found for them.
- Mark 9:3 His clothes became radiantly white, brighter than any launderer on earth could bleach them.
- Revelation 19:12 He has eyes like blazing fire, and many royal crowns on His head. He has a name written on Him that only He Himself knows.
- Exodus 34:29 And when Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the Testimony in his hands, he was unaware that his face had become radiant from speaking with the LORD.