John 1:45-49
New English Translation
45 Philip found Nathanael[a] and told him, “We have found the one Moses wrote about in the law, and the prophets also[b] wrote about—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” 46 Nathanael[c] replied,[d] “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”[e] Philip replied,[f] “Come and see.”
47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and exclaimed,[g] “Look, a true Israelite in whom there is no deceit!”[h] 48 Nathanael asked him, “How do you know me?” Jesus replied,[i] “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree,[j] I saw you.” 49 Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king[k] of Israel!”[l]
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- John 1:45 sn Nathanael is traditionally identified with Bartholomew (although John never describes him as such). He appears here after Philip; in all lists of the twelve except in Acts 1:13, Bartholomew follows Philip. Also, the Aramaic Bar-tolmai means “son of Tolmai,” the surname; the man almost certainly had another name. Other alternatives than Bartholomew have also been suggested, e.g. James the son of Alphaeus; see C. E. Hill, “The Identity of John’s Nathanael,” JSNT 20 (1998): 45-61.
- John 1:45 tn “Also” is not in the Greek text, but is implied.
- John 1:46 tn Grk “And Nathanael.”
- John 1:46 tn Grk “said to him.”
- John 1:46 sn Can anything good come out of Nazareth? may be a local proverb expressing jealousy among the towns.
- John 1:46 tn Grk “And Philip said to him.”
- John 1:47 tn Grk “said about him.”
- John 1:47 tn Or “treachery.”sn An allusion to Ps 32:2.
- John 1:48 tn Grk “answered and said to him.” This is somewhat redundant in English and has been simplified in the translation to “replied.”
- John 1:48 sn Many have speculated about what Nathanael was doing under the fig tree. Meditating on the Messiah who was to come? A good possibility, since the fig tree was used as shade for teaching or studying by the later rabbis (Ecclesiastes Rabbah 5:11). Also, the fig tree was symbolic for messianic peace and plenty (Mic 4:4, Zech 3:10.)
- John 1:49 tn Although βασιλεύς (basileus) lacks the article it is definite due to contextual and syntactical considerations. See ExSyn 263.
- John 1:49 sn Nathanael’s confession—You are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel—is best understood as a confession of Jesus’ messiahship. It has strong allusions to Ps 2:6-7, a well-known messianic psalm. What Nathanael’s exact understanding was at this point is hard to determine, but “son of God” was a designation for the Davidic king in the OT, and Nathanael parallels it with King of Israel here.
John 21:2
New English Translation
2 Simon Peter, Thomas[a] (called Didymus),[b] Nathanael[c] (who was from Cana in Galilee), the sons[d] of Zebedee,[e] and two other disciples[f] of his were together.
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- John 21:2 tn Grk “and Thomas.” The conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has not been translated here in keeping with the tendency of contemporary English style to use a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements of a series.
- John 21:2 sn Didymus means “the twin” in Greek.
- John 21:2 tn Grk “and Nathanael.” The conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has not been translated here in keeping with the tendency of contemporary English style to use a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements of a series.
- John 21:2 tn Grk “and the sons.” The conjunction καί (kai, “and”) has not been translated here in keeping with the tendency of contemporary English style to use a coordinating conjunction only between the last two elements of a series.
- John 21:2 sn The sons of Zebedee were James and John.
- John 21:2 sn The two other disciples who are not named may have been Andrew and Philip, who are mentioned together in John 6:7-8 and 12:22.
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