Hooker, "What Doest Thou Here, Elijah?"

Morna D. Hooker, “‘What doest thou here, Elijah’?: a look at St Mark’s account of the Transfiguration.,” in Glory of Christ in the New Testament (Oxford: Clarendon Pr, 1987), 59-70.

 "Elijah with Moses" does not support the traditional view that the two represent the Law and the Prophets. This works in Matt and Luke who 'correct' Mark's account by rephrasing as "Moses and Elijah" (61).

For Hooker, Elijah's presence at the Transfig. is tied to "the popular hope for Elijah's return -- a hope which he sees fulfilled in John the Baptist, who is the herald of Christ's coming." (62)

Jesus was previously (in Mk 8) thought to be Elijah or The Prophet like Moses. It is possible that by having both Elijah and Moses appear with Jesus, both of these identifications are negated (62).

Only Lk connects the Transfig. explicitly with Jesus' death with ref. to it as Jesus' ἐξοδος (Lk 9.31); the characters do not speak in Mk. In connection with Jesus' death, it is likely, along with Thrall, that the Transfig. is a prefiguring of the glory Jesus will have in his res. (63)

For Hooker, Elijah and Moses are key for the unveiling of Jesus' true identity because they are both predecessors of Jesus -- JB is Elijah, and Jesus is the fulfillment of all that Moses said (is Hooker nearing the 'traditional view' above?). By showing themselves with Jesus, Jesus is shown to be not either one of these men, but as greater than both (similar to Thrall). (66)