After how many days did Jesus take the three men up the mountain? Matthew 17:1; Mark 9:2 and Luke 9:28

1. Six Days later
   1. Matthew 17:1, “And six days later Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John his brother, and brought them up to a high mountain by themselves.”
   2. Mark 9:2, “And six days later, Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John and brought them up to a high mountain by themselves. And He was transfigured before them;”
2. Eight Days later
   1. Luke 9:28-29, “And some eight days after these sayings, it came about that He took along Peter and John and James, and went up to the mountain to pray. 29 And while He was praying, the appearance of His face became different, and His clothing became white and gleaming.”

In the Greek in both Matthew 17:1 and Mark 9:2, it says, “And after six days…”  The word “after” in Greek is meta.  According to the Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon meta  means, “with, after, or behind.”  In Luke 9:28 it says something different.  It says “And some eight days after these sayings . . .” (NASB).  The Greek word “some” is hosei which means “about” or “nearly.”  Other translations render it the same way.

• “About eight days after Jesus said this…” (Luke 9:28, NIV).
• “…about an eight days after these sayings…” (Luke 9:28, KJV).
• “…about eight days after these sayings…” (Luke 9:28, NKJV).
• “Now about eight days after these sayings…” (Luke 9:28, RSV).
• “…about eight days after these sayings…” (Luke 9:28, 1901 AS)

Luke 9:28 is an approximation evidenced by it saying “about eight days after…”  Matthew 17:1 and Mark 9:2 are more precise.  They say “after six days.”  Logically, eight days is after six days, so there is no logical contradiction.  But, the key lies in Luke saying “about eight days later.”  Luke was giving an approximation.  Matthew and Mark were more precise.