John Paul Heil, The Transfiguration of Jesus: Narrative Meaning and Function of Mark 9:2-8, Matthew 17:1-8, and Luke 9:28-36.

Rome Italy: Pontifical Biblical Institute Press, 2000. Pp. 367. Paper, $25.00.

Assuming no particular view on literary dependency among the Synoptics, John Paul Heil concentrates on the impact of the transfiguration on its implied audiences. Each Synoptic version provides "a unified, consistent narrative that is of the same basic literary genre" (p. 33). Specifically that genre is an epiphany, i.e., a sudden and unexpected manifestation of a divine or heavenly being in which certain selected persons experience the revelation of a divine attribute, action, or message. The angelophanies to Gideon (Judg 6:11-24) and to Manoah and his wife (Judg 13:2-24) furnish the Synoptic audiences with literary precedents with which to grasp the transfiguration narrative. Sharpening the literary genre, the author contends that the transfiguration is a pivotal mandatory epiphany. It is mandatory because the whole scene focuses on the climactic command of "listen to him." It is pivotal because the scene occurs at a key juncture in the overall narrative, i.e., after Jesus' announcement of his forthcoming passion, death, and resurrection. As biblical precedents for such a pivotal mandatory epiphany, Heft cites Numbers 22:31-35, Joshua 5:13-15, and 2 Maccabees 3:22-24.

For Heil, the transfiguration of Jesus is an "epiphanic motif describing his external, proleptic, and temporary transformation by God into a heavenly being while still on earth" (p. 76). To support this contention, the author investigates the statement of Jesus' transfiguration, the change in the appearance of his face, his extremely white clothing, and the shining radiance of his face/clothes. Appealing to Daniel, Revelation, and 1 Enoch, Heil finds parallels for such a transformation that enables Jesus to appear and converse with Moses and Elijah, who have already become members of the heavenly world. Unlike Moses and Elijah, however, Jesus will gain his heavenly glory, not by avoiding death (Elijah) or after dying a natural death (Moses), but by being raised by God after his own people have put him to death as an innocent and righteous prophet.

The tents and the overshadowing cloud are also significant in this epiphany. By making a tent--similar to the Tent of Meeting--for Jesus, Moses, and Elijah, Peter would thereby place all three figures on the same level, giving each equal opportunity to speak and thus prolong the epiphany. But the overshadowing cloud interrupts Peter's offer. This cloud performs two functions: (1) oracular and (2) vehicular. In its oracular function, the voice from the cloud commands the disciples to listen only to Jesus, not Moses and Elijah. In its vehicular function, the overshadowing cloud takes Moses and Elijah back to heaven, thus bringing the entire epiphany to an abrupt end.

The author has carefully limited his field of concentration. By focusing on an audience-oriented perspective and eschewing the original historical event and the redactional work of Matthew and Luke, Heft has done a great service in allowing the reader to appreciate the transfiguration as an epiphany and specifically as a pivotal mandatory (he discusses the antecedent and subsequent narratives in each Gospel) epiphany. What contributes to the quality of this work is its clarity of exposition and organization. Thus the reader is easily able to connect the principal ponts in Heil's argumentation. Although the Hebrew text is not properly aligned in several places (pp. 56, 60, 62, 137), the reader will finid this book a distinct contribution to ongoing studies on the transfiguration.

John F. Craghan
St. Norbert College
De Pere, WI 54115