Understanding the Synoptic Transfiguration Pericope as a Yahwistic Divine Council Scene

Abstract: Scholars have attempted to identify traditions that could possibly stand behind the Synoptic transfiguration pericope. However, they have not come to a consensus about this issue; consequently, there is significant disagreement about what tradition(s) may have influenced the pericope. In this article, I argue that the Yahwistic divine council motif in the Hebrew Bible should be considered as a likely source that almost certainly influenced the Synoptic transfiguration pericope in terms of its elements and structure. The benefit of this novel approach is that it coherently accounts for several crucial elements that appear in the pericope.