time but were accurately recorded in the Bible for the benefit of Christians living at later periods.—John 20:30, 31; Rev. 22:18.

TRAITOR

One who betrays another’s trust, is false to a duty or acts treasonously against his country or ruler. The most infamous traitor of the Bible was “Judas Iscariot, who turned traitor.” (Luke 6:16) The Greek noun pro·doʹtes (“betrayer, traitor,” from a verb meaning “to give forth or over, to betray”) aptly describes Judas, for after being selected as an apostle he became a greedy, practicing thief (John 12:6) and finally betrayed Jesus to the authorities for a comparatively small sum. (Matt. 26:14-16, 25, 48, 49) His was not merely a temporary abandoning of Christ by fleeing from what appeared to be a dangerous situation (Mark 14:50), but was a deliberate betrayal of Jesus to those seeking his death.

The Jewish religious leaders were correctly termed “betrayers and murderers,” for they employed traitorous Judas, personally turned their fellow countryman Christ over to the Romans and then, in an outrage of justice, opposed the declaration of Jesus’ innocence and demanded his death.—John 18:28–19:16; Acts 3:13-15; 7:52.

Another outstanding example of a traitor listed in the Bible was Ahithophel. Though having been King David’s trusted counselor, he joined Absalom’s insurrection. (2 Sam. 15:12, 31; 16:20-23; compare Psalm 55:20, 21.) God thwarted the traitorous adviser’s counsel, leading to Ahithophel’s death by suicide. (2 Sam. 17:23) Evidently David had other experiences with persons who turned against him. A number of modern Bible translations render the plural Hebrew participle bogh·dhimʹ (from a root meaning “to deal treacherously”) as “traitors” at Psalm 59:5: “Do not show favor to any hurtful traitors.” (JB, NE [1970 ed.], NW, Mo) The superscription of the psalm suggests that it relates to the time when Saul sent men to watch David’s house in order to kill him. (1 Sam. 19:11-18) So the “traitors” mentioned at Psalm 59:5 may have been associates of David who had deserted him or who were willing to betray him in that hour of trial. Or, since the preceding words call on God to turn his attention to “all the nations,” the term “traitors” may have referred to all opposers of God’s will, whether inside or outside Israel.

The prophecy in 2 Timothy 3:1-5 about conditions to exist in “the last days” indicates that there would be many betrayers or traitors (Gr., pro·doʹtes). Christians were advised to “turn away” from such, as befits persons striving to be loyal and honest in all things.—1 Thess. 2:10; Heb. 13:18.

TRANCE

See VISION.

TRANSFIGURATION

A miraculous event in the earthly life of Jesus Christ that was witnessed by Peter, James and John. (Matt. 17:1-9; Mark 9:2-10; Luke 9:28-36) Matthew and Mark say that on this occasion Jesus’ “face shone as the sun, and his outer garments became brilliant as the light,” becoming “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. It probably took place at night, for the apostles “were weighed down with sleep.” (Luke 9:32) At night the event would be more vivid, and they did spend the night on the mountain, for it was not until the next day that they descended. (Luke 9:37) Just how long the transfiguration lasted, however, the Bible does not say.

Prior to ascending the mountain, Christ had asked all 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 (Mark 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.” (Matt. 16:28; Mark 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” (Matt. 17:1; Mark 9:2; Luke 9:28) where, while praying, Jesus was transfigured before them.

LOCATION OF THE TRANSFIGURATION

Just before the transfiguration, Jesus and his disciples were in the region of Caesarea Philippi, the present-day village of Banias. (Mark 8:27) It is unlikely that Christ and the apostles departed from this vicinity or region when going to the “lofty mountain.” (Mark 9:2) Mount Tabor has been viewed as the traditional site from about the fourth century C.E., but, lying about fifty miles (80.5 kilometers) from Caesarea Philippi, it seems an improbable location.—See TABOR No. 1.

Mount Hermon, on the other hand, is only fourteen miles (22.5 kilometers) N of Caesarea Philippi. It rises to a height of over 9,000 feet (c. 2,743 meters) above sea level and would therefore be a “lofty mountain.” (Matt. 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.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE EVENT

During Jesus’ transfiguration, Moses and Elijah also appeared “with glory.” (Luke 9:30, 31) It had been foretold that Jehovah would raise up a prophet like Moses, and that promise was fulfilled in Christ. (Deut. 18:15-19; Acts 3:19-23) Between Moses and Jesus there were such similarities as these: babes were killed at both of their births, though they themselves were spared (Ex. 1:20–2:10; Matt. 2:7-23); they both experienced fasts of forty days’ duration (Ex. 24:18; 34:28; Deut. 9:18, 25; Matt. 4:1, 2); both were raised up by God in the interests of true worship and to effect deliverance (Ex. 3:1-10; Acts 7:30-37; 3:19-23); they were each privileged by God to mediate a covenant with his people (Ex. 24:3-8; Heb. 8:3-6; 9:15); both were used by Jehovah to magnify his name.—Ex. 9:13-16; John 12:28-30; 17:5, 6, 25, 26.

It was also foretold that Jehovah would send Elijah the prophet, among whose works was that of turning persons of Israel to true repentance. While Jesus was on earth John the Baptist did a work of that kind and served as the Messiah’s forerunner, fulfilling Malachi 4:5, 6. (Matt. 11:11-15; Luke 1:11-17) But, since the transfiguration occurred after the death of John the Baptist, Elijah’s appearance in it indicates that a work of restoration would be associated with the establishment of God’s kingdom in the hands of Christ.

During the transfiguration, Jesus, Moses and Elijah talked about Christ’s “departure [a form of the Greek word eʹxo·dos] that he was destined to fulfill at Jerusalem.” (Luke 9:31) This eʹxo·dos, exodus or “departure,” evidently involved both Christ’s death and his subsequent resurrection to spirit life.

Some critics have endeavored to class the transfiguration as simply a dream. However, Peter, James and John would not logically all have had exactly the same dream. Jesus himself called what took place a “vision” (Matt. 17:9), but not a mere illusion. Christ was actually there, though Moses and Elijah, who were dead, were not literally present. They were represented in vision. The Greek word used for “vision” at Matthew 17:9 is hoʹra·ma, meaning “the thing seen—a sight; a spectacle; a view.” It does not imply unreality, as though the observers