| Matthew 17 | |
|---|---|
 TheApostle Peter paying the temple tax with a coin from a fish's mouth by Augustin Tünger, 1486 | |
| Book | Gospel of Matthew |
| Category | Gospel |
| Christian Bible part | New Testament |
| Order in the Christian part | 1 |
Matthew 17 is the seventeenthchapter in theGospel of Matthew in theNew Testament section of theChristian Bible.Jesus continues his final journey toJerusalemministering throughGalilee.William Robertson Nicoll identifies "three impressive tableaux" in this chapter: the transfiguration, the epileptic boy and the temple tribute.[1]
The chapter opens six days after the events of theprevious chapter, which take place in the region ofCaesarea Philippi, near the southwestern base ofMount Hermon.Matthew in verse16:21 states that Jesus must go toJerusalem, but this journey does not properly begin untilMatthew 19:1. WithPeter,James andJohn, he goes to a high mountain, traditionally understood and commemorated asMount Tabor,[2] where he istransfigured. Mount Tabor is in the south of Galilee.[3] 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 toCapernaum at the northern end of theSea 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 theKing James Version), nor was Mount Tabor a particularly "high" mountain.[4]
The original text was written inKoine Greek.This chapter is divided into 27 verses.
Some early manuscripts containing the text of this chapter are:
TheNew King James Version organises this chapter as follows:
The first eight verses of this chapter record the account of theTransfiguration of Jesus, an event whereJesus istransfigured and becomes radiant inglory on top of a mountain.[5][6] The passage has parallels in otherSynoptic Gospels—Mark 9:2–8 andLuke 9:28–36—and the event is referred to in theSecond Epistle of Peter (2 Peter 1:16–18) as well as possibly alluded in thefirst chapter of theGospel of John (John 1:14).[7]
InLuke's gospel, the account of the transfiguration of Jesus comes abouteight days after the previous events. Protestant theologianHeinrich Meyer notes, in accordance with the observations of "Chrysostom,Jerome, Theophylact,Erasmus, and many others ... thatLuke has included thedies a quo andad quem" (i.e. inclusive of the days at the start and end of the interval).[9]
Some versions state "white as snow" rather than "white as the light".[11][12] TheJerusalem Bible notes that the angel of the resurrection inMatthew 28:3 wore a robe which was "white as snow".[13]
Moses andElijah are the only figures in theOld Testament who speak with God onMount Sinai: seeExodus 33:11 and1 Kings 19:8–18. Dale Allison comments that "their presence together makes us think of that mountain".[15]
Thecoin in the fish's mouth is one of themiracles of Jesus, told inverses 24–27.[16][17][18]
Thefour-drachma (or shekel) coin would be exactly enough to pay thetemple tax (a two-drachma coin) for two people.[19] It is usually thought to be aTyrian shekel.[20][21]
