A miraculous event witnessed by Peter, James, and John, in which Jesus’ “face shone as the sun, and his outer garments became brilliant as the light.” (Mt 17:1-9; Mr 9:2-10; Lu 9:28-36) Mark says that on this occasion Jesus’ outer garments became “far whiter than any clothes cleaner on earth could whiten them,” and Luke states that “the appearance of his face became different.” The transfiguration occurred on a mountain sometime after Passover of 32 C.E., quite a while before Jesus’ final trip to Jerusalem.

Just before the transfiguration, Jesus and his disciples were in the region of Caesarea Philippi, the present-day village of Banyas. (Mr 8:27) It is unlikely that Christ and the apostles departed from this vicinity or region when going to the “lofty mountain.” (Mr 9:2) Mount Tabor has been viewed as the traditional site from about the fourth century C.E., but lying about 70 km (40 mi) SSW of Caesarea Philippi, it seems an improbable location.​—See TABOR No. 1.

Mount Hermon, on the other hand, is only about 25 km (15 mi) NE of Caesarea Philippi. It rises to a height of 2,814 m (9,232 ft) above sea level and would therefore be “a lofty mountain.” (Mt 17:1) Hence, the transfiguration may have taken place on some spur of Mount Hermon. This is the view of many modern scholars, though the Bible’s silence on the matter leaves the exact location uncertain.

Prior to ascending the mountain, Christ had asked all of his disciples: “Who are men saying that I am?” whereupon Peter replied: “You are the Christ.” At that Jesus told them that he would die and be resurrected (Mr 8:27-31), though he also promised that some of his disciples would “not taste death at all” until they had first seen “the Son of man coming in his kingdom,” or “the kingdom of God already come in power.” (Mt 16:28; Mr 9:1) This promise was fulfilled “six days later” (or “eight” according to Luke, who apparently includes the day of the promise and that of the fulfillment) when Peter, James, and John accompanied Jesus into “a lofty mountain” (Mt 17:1; Mr 9:2; Lu 9:28) where, while praying, Jesus was transfigured before them.