Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Mark 9:2

"And after six days Jesus taketh with him Peter, and James, and John, and bringeth them up into a high mountain apart by themselves: and he was transfigured before them;" — Mark 9:2 (ASV)

“After six days” suggests that the Transfiguration is historical, connected with the previous event (see comment on Lk 9:28). The revelation was given to Peter, James, and John, the inner circle of the disciples (cf. 5:37–42; 14:33–42). The “high mountain” is most likely Mount Hermon (over 9,000 feet high), located near Caesarea Philippi, where the event Mark has just recorded took place. The word “transfigured” (GK 3565) describes Jesus’ change into another form ; the word is later used to denote the progressive change into the moral likeness of Christ (Romans 12:2; 2 Corinthians 3:18).

Mount Hermon, about forty miles northeast of the Sea of Galilee, is the highest mountain in this area of the world (9,000 feet above sea level). In winter it is often snowcapped.