How did Peter recognize Elijah and Moses?

Question

Matthew 17:3 Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus.

4 Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If you wish, I will put up three shelters—one for you, one for Moses and one for Elijah.”

I am wondering how Peter recognized that the men were Elijah and Moses?

Photographs and portraits didn't exist back in those days. If they did, Peter being a fisherman wouldn't have been to school to see them.

And I doubt Moses and Elijah began their conversation by saying - "Hello Jesus, I am Elijah and this is my buddy Moses."

So how would Peter know it was Elijah standing there?

Answer 1

Short Answer: We don't know.

Some possibilities:

• There was some sort of heavenly announcement, similar to the voice of the Father at Jesus' baptism (reference)

• Jesus explained it to them, as He was accustomed to having to do for them. (Keep in mind that there is a lot of stuff that wasn't recorded in Scripture!) (reference)

• They recognized it by divine illumination, similar to Peter's recognition of who Jesus really was (reference)

• Prior to Peter referencing them by name, it says (in verse 3) that Jesus was talking with them. Perhaps Jesus called them by name and Peter overheard.

My money is on the last one, since that's the only one that draws clues from the passage itself, but as I said, we really don't know for sure.

Answer 2

Maybe not in so many words, but that's probably exactly what happened: they introduced themselves, or someone else (an angel not mentioned in the text, the voice of God, etc) introduced them.

Seeing as how Peter & co lived centuries before the development of photography, and Elijah and Moses centuries before them, and given the strong cultural prohibitions on creating likenesses of people, such as statues, that's the only reasonable way they would have had to recognize a historical figure.

Answer 3

To be sure, Peter did not have the pictures or photographs of Moses and Elijah to compare them to. Since Peter recognizing them on his own was an impossible task, he could not have done so without divine help.

On another occasion, Peter recognized a greater Person than Moses and Elijah. In Matthew Chapter 16, Jesus asked His disciples who they thought him to be:

He saith unto them, "But whom say ye that I am?" And Simon Peter answered and said, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou,Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven. (vv. 15-17).

Peter got it right while others didn't. He easily identified who Jesus was--"the Son of the Living God" because he had heavenly help. The heavenly Father revealed it to him!

Similarly, Peter got it right again in identifying Moses and Elijah because the Father revealed it to him through the prompting of the Holy Spirit.

The same Peter said that it is the Holy Spirit who reveals things to God's people.

He wrote: Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost (2 Peter 1:21).

Answer 4

I think the answer is in Luke 9:33. Peter says, "Lord, it is good for us to be here if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee one for Moses, and one for Elijah” NOT KNOWING WHAT HE SAID." Peter reveals it but his words are inspired and he is unaware of what he is saying. Much as he spoke in other languages by inspiration on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:4).

Answer 5

Interesting question with an interesting answer.

How did Peter know Elijah and Moses at the transfiguration?

Among other places Malachi had prophesied that Elijah would appear before the coming of the Lord. Jesus picks up this same prophecy and points to John the Baptist as the fulfillment.

And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse. Mal 4:6

In another place, Jesus speaks of

And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come. For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. Mat 11:13-14

So, what about the transfiguration?

And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him. Mat 17:3

Moses represented the Law and Elijah (Elias) the prophets. Peter knew this. They were to continue until Christ. They weren't to be abolished, but fulfilled. Christ was the end of the Law and the fulfillment of the prophecies.

The point of the transfiguration is Peter correctly understood the two figures as the Law and Prophets, but along with Christ mistakenly wanted to maintain that order; he wanted to build three tabernacles as if they would be permanent fixtures. God instead opens the heavens and speaks to them and corrects them.

While he [Peter] yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.

Listen to Jesus Christ. He alone remains, having fulfilled all that Moses (law) and Elijah (prophets) had required.

Answer 6

Notice how the transfiguration is described a few verses later:

And as they came down from the mountain, Jesus charged them, saying, Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead.

This was not an actual appearance by Elijah and Moses, who were dead, buried, and unconscious. It was a "vision". The same Greek word "ὅραμα" (horama) was used elsewhere (e.g. Peter's vision of the unclean animals) to describe similar dream-like situations, not actual events.

When one dreams or experiences a vision, one doesn't need to be explicitly told who people are, one simply knows.

Answer 7

In addition to the possibility that they were introduced, my understanding is that ancient Jews would have had images not dissimilar from icons (though not as venerated). So I would think it possible that Elijah and Moses could have had some items associated with them — sort of like how you can tell that it is a picture of St. Peter by the fact that the picture has a man with keys in his hand.

Answer 8

I stumbled across this in my readings.

I've recently discovered that there is mounting evidence for Moses having not existed at all as a historical figure, but solely as a legendary figure (like King Arthur, etc). All in a hypothetical, if Moses didn't exist, then was this meeting factual or an illustration? Very curious to know.

Answer 9

Mostly I agree with Jas 3.1. Let me add that Elijah did have a rather distinctive appearance -- see 2 King 1:8. That wouldn't be enough for a positive identification, but it would be a clue. Life if you saw someone wearing a red cape and blue tights with a big "S" on his chest, you might well say, "Are you supposed to be Superman?"

It's possible that they had other physical descriptions that gave them a clue.

Peter wasn't an educated man but he would have been taught from scripture in the synagogues.