“Now Peter
And his companions
Were weighed down
With sleep.
But since they
Had stayed awake,
They saw his glory
And the two men
Who stood with him.”
ὁ δὲ Πέτρος καὶ οἱ σὺν αὐτῷ ἦσαν βεβαρημένοι ὕπνῳ· διαγρηγορήσαντες δὲ εἶδαν τὴν δόξαν αὐτοῦ καὶ τοὺς δύο ἄνδρας τοὺς συνεστῶτας αὐτῷ.
Luke uniquely said that Peter (ὁ δὲ Πέτρος) and his 2 companions (καὶ οἱ σὺν αὐτῷ) were weighed down with sleep (ἦσαν βεβαρημένοι ὕπνῳ). However, since they had stayed fully awake (διαγρηγορήσαντες), they saw the glory of Jesus (δὲ εἶδαν τὴν δόξαν αὐτοῦ) and the 2 men (καὶ τοὺς δύο ἄνδρας) who stood with him (τοὺς συνεστῶτας αὐτῷ). This is another unique statement by Luke about Peter during the transfiguration, since the other synoptics did not mention this. Peter with his 2 companions were almost asleep, like they did later in the Garden of Gethsemane. However, Peter, James, and John stayed awake long enough to catch a glimpse of the glory of the transfigured Jesus, Moses, and Elijah, as they watched them talk together. There was no indication what language was being spoken, but the assumption might be that it was Hebrew or Aramaic. Have you ever fallen asleep so that you missed an important event?
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 