Why are Moses and Elijah mentioned? Probably because they
are the two OT figures who encountered God on Sinai/Horeb. But
Moses and Elijah have most often in Christian exegetical history been taken to
represent, respectively, the law and the prophets—which leads to the conclusion
that in Jesus the Messiah and Son of God the law and the prophets are surpassed
or fulfilled and confirmed. Such an interpretation would help account for
Matthew placing Moses before Elijah: this accords with the fixed formula, ‘the
law and the prophets’ (cf. 5:17; 7:12). We cannot, however, be at all sure that
this interpretation was intended by the author of our gospel, especially as
Elijah was not a writing prophet. And there are still other suggested
interpretations. Thrall (v), for instance, suspects that Moses and Elijah are
mentioned in order to show that Jesus—the only one to rise from the dead—is
greater than both (cf. vv. 5–6); and Pamment (v) has claimed that both Moses
and Elijah, like Jesus, were rejected by the people but vindicated by God.
Others have begun with the fact that Moses and Elijah are also paired in Jn
1:21 (Moses indirectly); Rev 11:3 (probably); and Midr. Rab. on Deut 10:1—all three times as eschatological figures.
Even though the pairing is infrequent, the two figures are naturally
associated. They were both wonder-workers. Both suffered. Both were prophets.
Both were connected with the law. Both were, according to tradition, spared
death, and (perhaps) both were expected to return. It has therefore seemed
natural to many to discern their significance for the transfiguration by
interpreting them together, sometimes as eschatological figures. But Liefeld
(v), p. 173, may be correct to contend that whereas Moses’ rôle is primarily typological,
that of Elijah is primarily eschatological (cf. 17:9–13). The appearance of
Moses confirms the Exodus theme while the appearance of Elijah gives the whole
scene an eschatological dimension. There is yet another possibility, seemingly
neglected by exegetes. If, according to the Pentateuch, Moses’ face became lit
up on Sinai, Elijah was, in Jewish tradition, associated with fire and light.
Not only did the prophet call down fire from heaven and ascend in a fiery
chariot, but this is found in Liv. Proph. Elijah 2–3: ‘When he was born, his
father Sobacha saw that men of shining white appearance were greeting him and
wrapping him in fire, and they gave him flames of fire to eat, and he went and
reported this in Jerusalem and the oracle told him: “Do not be afraid, for his dwelling will be with light and his
word judgement …” ’. Perhaps Elijah is named in Mt 17:3 par. because he,
like Jesus and Moses, also had had his appearance transfigured into light. (W.
D. Davies and Dale C. Allison Jr., A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on
the Gospel according to Saint Matthew, 3 vols. [International Critical
Commentary; London: T&T Clark International, 2004], 2:697–699)
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