What is the meaning of ‘transfiguration’? | Psephizo:
We are so used to speaking of ‘transfiguration’ in Christian terms that we have not realised how remarkable it is that Mark and Matthew used the Greek verb metamorphoō (in the passive: metamorphoumai) at all. In classical Greek and Latin literature, the verb, and the noun metamorphōsis, are both slippery, ambivalent words, largely used in mythological or magical contexts. It does not appear at all in the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Old Testament’.… Why did Mark use that verb at all in the first place? It’s a rare word, without any of the positive connotations that we assume today.
A very interesting reflection!