Mark 9:14

ὄχλον πολὺν : the great crowd and the fact that the disciples at the foot of the hill, the nine, had been asked to heal the sufferer, are in favour of the view that the scene of the transfiguration was less remote than Hermon from the familiar theatre of the healing ministry of Jesus and His disciples. γραμματεῖς συζητοῦν · τας π. α., scribes wrangling with them, the nine. This is peculiar to Mark, but the situation is easily conceivable: the disciples have tried to heal the boy and failed (Mark 9:18); the scribes, delighted with the failure, taunt them with it, and suggest by way of explanation the waning power of the Master, whose name they had vainly attempted to conjure with. The baffled nine make the best defence they can, or perhaps listen in silence.