Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of John 1:48
Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee.
48. under the fig tree ] This probably means ‘at home,’ in the retirement of his own garden (1Ki 4:25; Mic 4:4; Zec 3:10); the Greek implies motion to under. Nathanael had perhaps been praying or meditating there; he seems to see that Christ knew what his thoughts had been there. It was under a fig tree that S. Augustine heard the famous ‘ Tolle, lege.’
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Whence knowest thou me? – Nathanael was not yet acquainted with the divinity of Christ, and supposed that he had been a stranger to him. Hearing him express a favorable opinion of him, he naturally inquired by what means he had any knowledge of him. His conscience testified to the truth of what Jesus said that he had no guile, and he was anxious to know whence he had learned his character.
Before that Philip called thee – See Joh 1:45.
When thou wast under the fig-tree – It is evident that it was from something that had occurred under the fig-tree that Jesus judged of his character. What that was is not recorded. It is not improbable that Nathanael was accustomed to retire to the shade of a certain tree, perhaps in his garden or in a grove, for the purpose of meditation and prayer. The Jews were much in the habit of selecting such places for private devotion, and in such scenes of stillness and retirement there is something especially favorable for meditation and prayer. Our Saviour also worshipped in such places. Compare Joh 18:2; Luk 6:12. In that place of retirement it is not improbable that Nathanael was engaged in private devotion.
I saw thee – It is clear, from the narrative, that Jesus did not mean to say that he was bodily present with Nathanael and saw him; but he knew his thoughts, his desires, his secret feelings and wishes. In this sense Nathanael understood him. We may learn:
1.That Jesus sees what is done in secret, and is therefore divine.
2.That he sees us when we little think of it.
3.That he sees us especially in our private devotions, hears our prayers, and marks our meditations. And,
4.That he judges of our character chiefly by our private devotions. Those are secret; the world sees them not; and in our closets we show what we are. How does it become us, therefore, that our secret prayers and meditations should be without guile and hypocrisy, and such as Jesus will approve!
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Joh 1:48
When thou wast under the fig-tree, I saw thee.
What was he doing there? Something good evidently. The following suggestions have been made:
I. THAT HE WAS THERE FOR GRATEFUL CONTEMPLATION. A tradition says that at the massacre of the innocents he was hidden by his mother beneath the fig-tree in her garden at Bethlehem. This is too remote a reference, having occurred thirty years before.
II. THAT HE FIRST HEARD OF CHRIST BENEATH THE FIG-TREE. When Philip found him he was seated beneath his own fig-tree. But this was known to Philip and perhaps to others. Our Lords allusion was obviously to some circumstance understood only by Nathanael.
III. THAT IT WAS FOR PRAYER WITH RESPECT TO SOME SPECIAL DIFFICULTY. No doubt Nathanaels devotions were the reverse of those of the Pharisees. But this suggestion is too vague.
IV. THAT IT WAS FOR THE SPECIAL STUDY OF GODS WORD. No doubt Nathanael was waiting for the consolation of Israel. On one memorable occasion, as he sat there with the sacred roll spread out on his knee, light suddenly dawned. The scripture was Genesis, the life was that of Jacob, the passage the vision of the ladder (verse 51), and above all a voice speaking of a seed in which all the families of the earth should be blessed. On that day perhaps Philip summoned him to the presence of the Master. Conclusion:
1. How do you spend your hours of privacy? Some in sinful thoughts, shameful deeds. Let the sinner know that God sees him.
2. Experience proves the worth of meditative prayer (Mat 6:6).
3. Resort to your fig-tree frequently. (S. Buss, LL. B.)
Christs knowledge of His people
I. Their CHARACTERS He understands.
II. Their CONDUCT He observes.
III. Their THOUGHTS He discerns. (T. Whitelaw, D. D.)
Christ the Witness of our secret hours
I. WHAT THIS INCIDENT TEACHES US OF CHRIST. His Divinity. Let us leave the trite and well-trodden method of proving this, and try a simpler way. Jesus demands our adoration as more than man, and on the ground that He alone of all the minds that have lifted up the world with intelligence has the power of reading all mens thoughts and hearts and experiences through and through. The leaders of thought have never been equal to this. Had they even pretended to it ,hey would have been set down as miserable jugglers. A general knowledge of human nature is all that the acutest have attained. The limit of this is soon attained and is not always accurate. But here is a man who all through life knew what is in man. He wanted no information about the diseases He cured. He saw the lack of selfsacrifice in the young man. He judged faultlessly the Pharisees, Judas, Pilate, the faithless wife, the woman that was a sinner. How could He be a Saviour without knowing our real state? the Light of the world without its lying open to His inspection? the Judge without comprehending every secret motive, error, sin?
II. WHAT THIS INCIDENT TEACHES US OF NATHANAEL AND OF THE BLESSING HE RECEIVED.
1. He was not a faultless character, but genuine, lowly, teachable, having a soul open to receive spiritual light.
2. The blessing imports
(1) That which falls on all genuine unconscious goodness that hides itself from men, and therefore is more precious to God. This is one of those new gracious ideas which the gospel brings into the world. Not only is righteousness independent of station or publicity, but it is acceptable to God and a sign of spiritual purity in the degree that it turns to God alone for its Approver.
(2) Attainments are of slow growth. It needs time to form habits. But sincerity in the religious life is indispensable at the very outset. This was Nathanaels one promising, solid grace. Hence the encouragement held out to genuine repentance and the unsparing condemnation of hypocrisy.
(3) The modest and faithful performance of a lower duty prepares the soul for the higher services and privileges. The man that was true under the fig tree afterwards sees angels of God, etc. (Bp. Huntington.)
Nathanael under the fig tree; or, religion in secret
I. IT IS IN SECRET THAT TRUE RELIGION HAS ITS ORIGIN. Thus we perceive that the rise of religion in the soul must necessarily be out of sight. The new creation is accomplished by the secret agency of the Holy Spirit. The origin of great rivers is sometimes wrapped mystery; they rise in Borne inaccessible regions on which human eye has never gazed. For centuries the sources of the Mile were unknown; to discover them was the highest ambition of many an adventurous explorer; but till very recently every attempt had been of no avail. Indeed, the fountain-heads of some of our own rivers lie far away from the haunts of men. If you would trace the Severn to its source, you must ascend the height of Plinlimmon, and there, in a dreary, wild, secluded region, you will find the obscure fountain, where the noble river rises. Truly, this is not an unapt representation of the beginning of the Divine life in the soul.
II. IT IS IN SECRET THAT TRUE RELIGION IS MOST IMPORTANT. This is manifest when we consider that
1. Man is a lonely being. It may be a startling statement, but it is profoundly true. Between man and man there lies a wide distance; beyond a certain point they cannot approach each other; thus every one stands emphatically by himself. A casual visitor to a large town is frequently overwhelmed with a painful sense of loneliness. Man is alone in most of those circumstances which make up the sum of his existence. His thoughts and reflections, his hopes and fears, are for the most part unknown to his bosom friends. The stage of a theatre is generally so decorated as to present a very gorgeous appearance. You might imagine that those who move and talk upon it live in a kind of fairy land. Beautiful forms chatter and dance, amidst sunny groves and laughing streams. All this, however, gives you but a very erroneous idea of what those men and women are in real life. Still, were you allowed to go behind the scenes, where they retire after having played their parts, you might form a sounder estimate of their actual character; but the proceedings there are never beheld by the crowd of spectators who fill the house. But a mans religion follows him into the most retired places; it leaves its impress upon his most private actions; it forms and fashions his most secret meditations.
2. Religious declension invariably begins in secret. This shows how jealous we should always be of the integrity of our inner life. Think of a stream, which, as it winds its way along the meadow, supplies man and beast with its crystal waters. But one day it becomes suddenly thick and troubled. What can be the cause? Somebody has been tampering with the fountainhead. It is in secret that the foundation of our religion is laid. And if the foundation be not firm, the superstructure must be in danger.
3. We can form a more accurate judgment of our religion from our secret life than from anything else. There are two distinct spheres wherein a mans religion may be tested; namely, in public and in secret. Some profess religion from the love of praise–some from a baser motive still, the love of gain. But such motives as these can have no possible influence upon us in secret.
III. TRUE RELIGION IN SECRET IS ACCOMPANIED BY TRUE RELIGION IN PUBLIC. We have a remarkable instance of this in the case of Nathanael. When called upon to act in public, he practised the principles which he cherished in secret.
1. He who has Gods love in his heart cannot altogether hide the fact from others. Religion is not a latent principle, buried up in the depths of the soul; for it displays itself in works of righteousness before the world.
2. The secret life of man cannot but tell on his public life. If a man commune much with God in secret, he cannot be otherwise than God-like in public. Unconsciously to himself, he sheds abroad a powerful influence wherever he goes. (A. Rowlands, B. A.)
The secret side of religion
I. RELIGION HAS A SECRET SIDE TOWARDS GOD, AS WELL AS AN OPEN SIGN TOWARDS MAN. There is a part of religion that is strictly private and personal. From the secret good in Nathanael we may draw the conclusion that there is more good in the world than we know, more good in men than we can see.
II. THE SECRET SIDE OF RELIGION IS THE SURE TEST AND SIGN OF ITS REALITY. From Christs words to Nathanael we may gather
1. Christ bases His estimate of men upon what is inward rather than what is outward, upon what is secret and private rather than upon what is public and open.
2. Christ pursues a method of judgment with men far different from that taken by the world.
3. The secret side of religion is the surest sign of its reality, because free from many evils which often are associated with the public and open.
III. THE SECRET SIGN OF RELIGION HERE SHALL BECOME THE OPEN SIDE HEREAFTER. Christ honoured it in Nathanael, and, to the amazement of the man, made it known. He will recognize and honour and make known the secret goodness of all His servants by and by. Sometimes the secret life of religion becomes openly known here. Hereafter comes the grand and complete revelation. Your Father, that seeth in secret, shall reward you openly. In religion, and in the service of Christ, let every man be true to his own nature. Let no man despise his brother because his brother is not as himself. Let Nathanael be Nathanael, and let Peter be Peter. Behind our open life and public duties let there be a secret life with God, of thought and prayer. (Homiletic Magazine.)
The Old Testament and the New
There is an analogy between what is here said at the opening of the Gospel and what is written at the opening of the Old Testament of the law in the Book of Genesis.
I. The two portions of Scripture REPRESENT THE REIGNING PRINCIPLES OF THE TWO DISPENSATIONS, EACH BY A TYPICAL OCCURRENCE ON ITS THRESHOLD.
1. There, at the garden of Eden, man a transgressor, conscious of his guilt, hides himself under the leaves of a tree to escape the punishment he deserves and dreads, and there the eye of the Almighty searches him out with a summons to judgment.
2. Here, at the introduction of the Gospel, just when the Lamb of God appears to take away the worlds sin, man seeks the same covering, not to hide himself, from God, but to draw near to Him for communion; and here the same searching eye discovers him, not for rebuke, but for encouragement and blessing. Adam was ashamed and hid himself; in Nathanael there was no shame needing to be hid.
II. THE TWO CHARACTERISTIC MOTIVE POWERS OF THE TWO PARTS OF REVELATION, both necessary, the terror of the law, alarming and rousing the conscience, and the attraction of grace moving and melting the heart. Not a jot or a tittle passes from the law till all is fulfilled, because conscience burns in us with its perpetual fire, and in his weakness and self-love every man needs to know that the soul that sinneth, it shall die, yet none the less are we Christians to be mindful that we live under the new dominion of mercy, when no faintest movement of faith is forgotten, and no retiring act of holy obedience is unnoticed and unrewarded. (Homiletic Magazine.)
The fig tree
The advantages of the fig tree as a shade are shown in the following: As we approached, one of the camel-drivers, pointing to a cluster of six large fig trees, cried out, Tacht etteen,–under the fig tree? And soon we felt the pleasantness of this shade; for there is something peculiarly delightful in the shade of the fig tree. It is far superior to the shade of a tent, and perhaps even to the shadow of a rock, since not only does the mass of heavy foliage completely exclude the rays of the sun, but the traveller finds under it a peculiar coolness arising from the air gently creeping through the branches. Hence the force of the Scripture expression, When thou wast under the fig tree. (Mission to the Jews from Scotland.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 48. Whence knowest thou me?] He was not yet acquainted with the divinity of Christ, could not conceive that he could search his heart, and therefore asks how he could acquire this knowledge of him, or who had given him that character. It is the comfort of the sincere and upright, that God knows their hearts; and it should be the terror of the deceitful and of the hypocrite, that their false dealing is ever noticed by the all-seeing eye of God.
Under the fig tree] Probably engaged in prayer with God, for the speedy appearing of the salvation of Israel; and the shade of this fig tree was perhaps the ordinary place of retreat for this upright man. It is not A fig tree, but , THE fig tree, one particularly distinguished from the others. There are many proofs that the Jewish rabbins chose the shade of trees, and particularly the fig tree, to sit and study under. See many examples in Schoettgen. How true is the saying, The eyes of the Lord are through all the earth, beholding the evil and the good! Wheresoever we are, whatsoever we are about, may a deep conviction of this truth rest upon our hearts, Thou God seest ME!
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Nathanael wonders how Christ should know him, having not been of his familiar acquaintance. Christ tells him he saw him under the fig tree, before ever Philip called him. That was a very hot country, wherein people sought shadowy places; hence we read of sitting under their own vines and fig trees, Mic 4:4; Zec 3:10; and it is likely that those being two luxuriant plants, that had large leaves, and ran out in long boughs, in hot weather they might under the covert of these plants not only sit as in an arbour to converse one with another, but also perform religious duties. Whether Christ saw him there eating and drinking, or conversing with friends, or reading, or praying, the Scripture saith not, and it is but vainly guessed; it is enough that by his telling this to him, he let him know that he saw him, though he was not in his view, and so was omnipresent and omniscient. Christ seeth us, where we are, and what we do, when we see not him; and he seeth our hearts, whether they be single or double, plain, or false and deceitful; which as in many cases it affords us much comfort, so it admonishes us to be at all times in the fear of the Lord.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
48. Whence knowest thou meconsciousthat his very heart had been read, and at this critical moment morethan ever before.
Before Philip calledtheeshowing He knew all that passed between Philip and him ata distance.
when . . . under the figtree, &c.where retirement for meditation and prayer wasnot uncommon [LIGHTFOOT].Thither, probablyhearing that his master’s Master had at lengthappeared, and heaving with mingled eagerness to behold Him and dreadof deceptionhe had retired to pour out his guileless heart forlight and guidance, ending with such a prayer as this, “Show mea token for good!” (See on Lu 2:8).Now he has it, “Thou guileless one, that fig tree scene, withall its heaving anxieties, deep pleadings and tremulous hopesI sawit all.” The first words of Jesus had astonished, but this quiteoverpowered and won him.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Nathanael saith unto him, whence knowest thou me?…. This he said as one surprised, that he, who was a stranger to him, should hit upon his general character, and describe the internal state and frame of his soul: this was more surprising to him, than if he had called him by his name Nathanael, as he did Simon; or had said what was the place, of his abode; Cana of Galilee; since this ordinarily was only to be observed, and learned, from a long and familiar acquaintance and conversation: by Nathanael’s reply, it looks as if he had no doubt, or fears, about the character Christ gave him; but rather, that he believed it, as every good man must be conscious to himself of his own integrity; only it was amazing to him, how he should know it:
Jesus answered and said unto him; in order to satisfy him, how he could know this inward temper of his mind, and to give him some undeniable proofs of his omniscience, which he himself must acknowledge, being such as none but an all seeing eye could discover:
before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee; in which words Christ gives two instances of his omniscience; the one is, that he knew Philip had called him; he was privy to all that passed between them, though they were alone, and the conversation was had in the most private manner. Christ knew what an account Philip had given of him, and what objection Nathanael had made; and what an invitation Philip had given him to go along with him to Christ, and judge for himself; which is here meant by calling him, and with which he complied: and the other is, that he saw him under the fig tree before that: he was sitting under it, as men in those countries used to do; see Mic 4:4, where he might be reading the Scriptures, and meditating upon them; and if, as some observe, he was reading, and thinking upon Jacob’s dream, concerning the ladder which reached from earth to heaven, and on which he saw the angels of God ascending and descending, the words of Christ in Joh 1:51 must strike him with fresh surprise, and give him another convincing proof of his omniscience: or he might be praying here in secret, and so acted a different part from the generality, of religious men of that nation, who chose to pray in synagogues, and corners of the streets, that they might be seen; and likewise proved him to be what Christ had said of him, a true and rare Israelite, without guile and hypocrisy, which were so visible and prevailing among others. It was usual with the doctors to read, and study in the law, under fig trees, and sometimes, though rarely, to pray there. It is said t,
“R. Jacob, and his companions, were “sitting”, studying in the law, , “under a certain fig tree”.”
And the rule they give about praying, on, or under one, is thus u:
“he that prays on the top of an olive tree, or on the top of a “fig tree”, or on any other trees, must come down, and “pray below”.”
It is said of Nathanael, in the Syriac dictionary x; that his mother laid him under a fig tree, when the infants were slain, i.e. at Bethlehem; which, if it could be depended upon, must be to Nathanael a surprising and undeniable proof of the deity of Christ, and of his being the true Messiah; since, at that time, he was an infant of days himself, and was the person Herod was seeking to destroy, as the Messiah, and king of the Jews.
t T. Hieros. Beracot, fol. 5. 3. Vid. Shirhashirim Rabba, fol. 16. 4. u Ib col. 1. & T. Bab. Beracot, fol. 16. 1. x Bar Bahluli apud Castell. Lexic. Polyglott. col. 8437.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Whence knowest thou me? ( ;). Nathanael is astonished at this tribute, at any knowledge about himself by Jesus. He had overheard Christ’s comment and longed to know its source.
Before Philip called thee ( ). Idiomatic Greek, and the ablative case of the articular aorist active infinitive ( , from , to call) with as the object and , the accusative of general reference, “before the calling thee as to Philip.”
When thou wast under the fig tree ( ). “Being under the fig tree,” accusative present participle agreeing with . The fig tree was a familiar object in Palestine, probably in leaf at this time, the accusative with may suggest that Nathanael had withdrawn there for prayer. Note genitive with in verse 50. Jesus saw Nathanael’s heart as well as his mere presence there. He saw him in his worship and so knew him.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
1) “Nathanael saith unto him,” (legei auto Nathanael) “Nathanael inquired to (of) him,” of Jesus, inquiring with sincerity.
2) “Whence knowest thou me?” (pothen me ginoskeis) “Whence (from what source) do you know me?” He was surprised that Jesus knew even the bend of his character. In essence he asked Jesus, how did you know me? Yet he knows and understands man’s heart and thoughts from afar, no matter where one may be, or what he is doing, Psa 94:11; Psa 139:2; 2Ki 19:27; Act 15:8.
3) “Jesus answered and said unto him,” (apekrithe lesous kai eipen auto) “Jesus replied and said to him,” directly.
4) “Before that Philip called thee,” (pro tou se Philippon phonesai) “Before Philip called you,” to come to me as your savior, before then when you were complacent, resting at home. In minute detail God saw and was interested in Nathanael, as He is in each of us, Act 17:27-28.
5) “When thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee,” (onta hupo ten suken eidon se) “While you were under the fig tree I saw you.” Fig trees were a favorite of the Jews both around their homes and planted along the roadside, for both the fruit they bare and the shade they afforded, Mat 21:19. “Sitting under one’s fig tree,” meant being in privacy or at home, Mic 4:4; Zec 3:10. That God continuously sees and knows the place, the actions, the thoughts, and what is in the heart of man, should be a sobering thought to every person, Mat 6:8.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
48. Whence knowest thou? Though Christ did not intend to flatter him, yet he wished to be heard by him, in order to draw forth a new question, by the reply to which he would prove himself to be the Son of God. Nor is it without a good reason that Nathanael asks whence Christ knew him; for to meet with a man of such uprightness as to be free from all deceit is an uncommon case, and to know such purity of heart belongs to God alone. The reply of Christ, however, appears to be inappropriate; for though he saw Nathanael under the fig-tree, it does not follow from this that he could penetrate into the deep secrets of the heart. But there is another reason; for as it belongs to God to know men when they are not seen, so also does it belong to Him to see what is not visible to the eyes. As Nathanael knew that Christ did not see him after the manner of men, but by a look truly divine, this might lead him to conclude that Christ did not now speak as a man. The proof, therefore, is taken from things which are of the same class; for not less does it belong to God to see what lies beyond our view than to judge concerning purity of heart. We ought also to gather from this passage a useful doctrine, that when we are not thinking of Christ, we are observed by him; and it is necessary that it should be so, that he may bring us back, when we have wandered from the right path.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(48) The natural explanation of the verse seems to be that Nathanael was at his own house when Philip called him to hear the glad news of the Messiah. The words rendered under the fig-tree include the going there and being there. It was the fig-tree of his own garden (1Ki. 4:25; Micah 4; Zec. 3:10) where, and not at the corners of the streets, or to be seen of men, he was in the honesty of his heart praying to God. Unseen as he thought by any eye, he was seen by Him to whose coming every true Israelite looked, and the answer to the true thought and prayer was then as ever close at hand; but at hand, in the human form in which men find it so hard to read the Divine, and in the ordinary events in which men find it hard to realise God. A travelling Rabbi! He is the Messiah. From Nazareth the All Good cometh! This meeting, then, was not the first. There was an actual Messianic Presence in Nathanaels inmost thought. He is now startled, and asks, Whence knowest Thou me? We have never seen each other before. But in the deepest sense, the Messiah was there; when thou wast under the fig-tree, I saw thee.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
48. Under the fig-tree The Jewish writers often speak of the shade of the fig-tree as the place of meditation and prayer. Probably it was in some such shade, within some enclosure secluded from the possible reach of the human eye of Jesus, that Nathanael won his title of Israelite, (as did Jacob of old that of Israel,) by prevailing prayer with God. As the nation was alive with the hope of the Messiah, and as Nathanael’s mind was doubtless agitated by John’s preaching a Messiah at hand, Nathanael’s prayer was very probably for a sight of the Messiah himself. When Jesus, therefore, showed himself acquainted with that secret supplication, who can wonder at the burst of rapture with which he hails Jesus himself as that very demonstrated Messiah?
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘Nathaniel says to him, “From where do you know me?” Jesus answered and said to him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree I saw you”.
Nathaniel is puzzled by Jesus’ first statement and so he asks, ‘From where (or how) do you know me?’ Jesus is claiming knowledge about him. He wonders what the source is.
Jesus replies, ‘Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you’. It is clear from Nathaniel’s reply that this must have had some significance for Nathaniel for he is even more impressed. Perhaps he had just been meditating on Psalms 32 himself, or thinking of Jacob and Esau (see Gen 27:35 and note Joh 1:50 below), or perhaps what he had been thinking to himself while under the fig tree was of great religious importance and related to thoughts about the coming king and the days of deliverance (compare Simeon in Luk 2:25). Whatever it was, he wonders how Jesus could have known it. Indeed he considers that there can be only one explanation, this man has extraordinary powers.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Joh 1:48. Whence knowest thou me? “I am a perfect stranger to thee: how is it then that thou canst at once undertake to answer for the most secret part of a stranger’s character?” Jesus replied; “I am not so entire a stranger to thy character as thou art ready to suppose: nor do I take it merely from uncertain report: for before Philip called thee, when thou wast alone under the fig-tree, I saw thee; and as I was present in spirit to observe what passed in that secret retirement, I know how well thou deservest the testimony which I have now borne to thine integrity.” See the next note.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Joh 1:48 . ] therefore to those journeying with Him, but so that the approaching Nathanael hears it, Joh 1:49 .
] truly an Israelite, not merely according to outward descent and appearance, but in the moral nature which really corresponds to that of an upright Israelite. Comp. Rom 9:6 ; Rom 2:29 . tells by what means he is so. Thus sincere and honest, thus inwardly true, should every Israelite be (not simply free from self-righteousness, but possessing what essentially belongs to truth); and Nathanael was all this. This virtue of guilelessness, as the characteristic of the true Israelite, is not named as belonging generally to the ancient ideal of the nation (Lcke, De Wette; this view arbitrarily passes by the reference to the nation historically which lay much nearer); but in view of the venerable and honourable testimonies which had been uttered concerning the people of Israel ( e.g. Num 23:10 ), whose father was himself already designated , LXX. , [125] Gen 25:27 ; Aq. , [126] Symm. .
Jesus here also, as in Joh 1:43-44 , appears as the searcher of hearts .
[125] Comp. Plato, Legg . I. p. 642 D: . Soph. 216 C: , .
[126] Comp. Aristoph. Plut . 1159: , .
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
48 Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee.
Ver. 48. Before that Philip, &c. ] Christ thinks of us when we little think of him. SeeRom 5:10Rom 5:10 .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
48. ] The Evangelist certainly intends a supernatural insight by the Lord into Nathanael’s character to be here understood; and there is probably no reference at all to the question which Nathanael had just asked. To suppose that Jesus overheard that question , is just one of those perfectly gratuitous assumptions which the very Commentators who here make this supposition are usually the first to blame. Compare ch. Joh 2:25 .
. . ] ‘An Israelite who truly answers to the inner and honourable meaning of the name.’ When we reflect what was contained in that name, and Who it is that speaks, we can hardly agree with De Wette that the words are spoken merely in the spirit in which every nation attaches some peculiar virtue, and especially those of openness and straightforwardness, to itself, as deutsch heraussagen, deutsche Treue , or Cicero’s “Romano more loqui.”
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Joh 1:48 . . The honesty shown in his coming to Jesus is indicated as his characteristic. He had given proof that he was guileless. In Gen 27:35 Isaac says to Esau, “Thy brother has come and ”. And it was by throwing off this guile and finding in God his dependence that Jacob became Israel. So that in declaring Nathanael to be a guileless Israelite, Jesus declares him to be one who does not seek to win blessing by earthly means but by prayer and trust in God.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
answered and said. Hebrew idiom. See Deu 1:41. App-122.
Before. Greek. pro. App-104.
under. Greek. hupo. App-104.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
48.] The Evangelist certainly intends a supernatural insight by the Lord into Nathanaels character to be here understood; and there is probably no reference at all to the question which Nathanael had just asked. To suppose that Jesus overheard that question, is just one of those perfectly gratuitous assumptions which the very Commentators who here make this supposition are usually the first to blame. Compare ch. Joh 2:25.
. .] An Israelite who truly answers to the inner and honourable meaning of the name. When we reflect what was contained in that name, and Who it is that speaks, we can hardly agree with De Wette that the words are spoken merely in the spirit in which every nation attaches some peculiar virtue, and especially those of openness and straightforwardness, to itself, as deutsch heraussagen, deutsche Treue, or Ciceros Romano more loqui.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Joh 1:48. whence) Jesus does not answer this question, but shows that He knows even more about Nathanael.-, a fig-tree) An emblem of peace and Gospel security [1Ki 4:25; Mic 4:4].- , I saw thee) with the Divine eye. Nathanael is reminded of the meditations, which he had had at that time, truly worthy of an Israelite and free from guile.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
joh 1:48
Joh 1:48
Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me?-He asked, How and from what do you know me? showing he had no acquaintance with him.
Jesus answered and said unto him, Before Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee.-Jesus responded that he knew him as he sat under the fig tree before Philip called him. I take it that Jesus could not see him by his sight, and that Nathanael knew it required superhuman knowledge and his frank and guileless spirit, taken with what Philip had told him, he confessed that Jesus is the Son of God.
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
when: Joh 2:25, Gen 32:24-30, Psa 139:1, Psa 139:2, Isa 65:24, Mat 6:6, 1Co 4:5, 1Co 14:25, Rev 2:18, Rev 2:19
Reciprocal: Job 31:4 – General Psa 38:9 – groaning Son 8:5 – I raised Hos 14:8 – I have Luk 19:5 – he looked Joh 1:42 – Thou art Joh 4:16 – Go Joh 4:19 – I perceive
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
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Nathanael was surprised that Jesus knew him, even though they were in the bodily presence of each other. Then his astonishment was increased when Jesus mentioned an apparently trival circumstance such as standing under a fig tree. If Jesus knew of that circumstance while not present nor in sight of it, it would
prove Him to be the very person whom Philip described in verse 45.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Joh 1:48. Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? The words of Jesus had been spoken while Nathanael was drawing near, and the latter heard them. He does not deny the truth of the commendation, and yet it can hardly be said, on the other hand, that he accepts it. It is enough for him that he sees that he is discerned by one whom he had not previously met, and what he asks is, Whence gettest Thou Thy knowledge of me? Who has told Thee anything about me?
Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee. Jesus replies by referring to a previous, probably recent, incident in his history. The heart of the guileless man had been so moved by the great thoughts stirring at that time with respect to the Saviour at hand, that he had retired under a fig tree to study the Scriptures, or meditate, or pray. It is this that (as the Greek implies) is now brought to his recollectionnot his being under the fig tree, but his having gone under it; and we are thus rather invited than forbidden to suppose that the emotions filling his heart at the moment, and impelling him to seek solitude, had been peculiarly strong. Then Jesus had seen him, and had recognised in him one of His sheep, just as His sheep recognise Him (Joh 10:16). If the incident had taken place in Nathanaels own Cana, it must have been all the more striking to him that it should thus be known. But, however this may have been, these wonderful words of Jesus, coming suddenly upon him after long preparation for them and after the instructions just given him by Philip, at once set his heart on fire, and drew from him the memorable confession which follows.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Observe here, How Nathanael wondereth that Christ should know him, having (as he thought) never seen him. Christ gives him to understand, that by his all-seeing eye he had seen him, when he was not seen by him: When thou was under the fig-tree I saw thee. Christ’s all-seeing eye is an infallible proof of his deity and god-head. Christ seeth us whatever we do, though we see not him. He seeth the sincerity of our hearts, and will own it, and bear witness to it, if we are upright in his sight.
Observe farther, How Christ’s omnipresence and omniscience convinces Nathanael that he was more than man, even the Messias, God and man in two distinct natures and one person. Rabbi, Thou art the Son of God. Philip called Christ the Son of Joseph; Nathanael calls him the Son of God. Such as believe Christ’s omniscience, will never call in question his divinity.
Observe lastly, How Christ encourages the faith of this new disciple Nathanael, by promising him that he shall enjoy farther helps and means for the confirmation of his faith, than ever yet he had. All that Christ said to him, was only this, that he saw him under the fig-tree, before Philip called him.
How ready art thou, O Lord! to encourage the beginnings of faith in the hearts of thy people, and to furnish them with farther means of knowledge, when they wisely improve what they have received! Never wilt thou be wanting, either in means or mercy to us, if we be not wanting to thee and ourselves.
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
Ver. 48. Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him and says of him: Behold a true Israelite, in whom there is no guile.
Nathanael is one of those upright hearts who have only to see Jesus in order to believe in Him; Philip is not mistaken. Jesus Himself, as He sees him, also signalizes in him this quality. Penetrating him, as He had penetrated Simon, he utters aloud this reflection with regard to him ( ): Behold… We can make the adverb , truly, qualify , Behold really an Israelite without guile; in this case, the idea without guile is not placed in connection with the national Israelitish character; it is applied to Nathanael personally. But we can make the adverb qualify the word Israelite: a true (truly) Israelite, and that as being without guile. In that case, it is the national character, as well as that of Nathanael, which Jesus signalizes, and there may be, perhaps, an allusion to the name Israel (conqueror of God) which was substituted for Jacob (supplanter), after the mysterious scene, Genesis 32, where the new way of struggling took the place, in the patriarch’s case, of the deceitful methods which were natural to him. However, Joh 6:5 and Joh 8:31, where the adverb qualifies the verb to be, must not be cited for this meaning.
Fuente: Godet Commentary (Luke, John, Romans and 1 Corinthians)
1:48 {21} Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee.
(21) The purpose of miracles is to set before us Christ the Almighty, and also the only author of our salvation, in order that we may apprehend him by faith.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Nathanael acted surprised that Jesus knew who he was. Evidently they had not met previously. Jesus explained that He had seen Nathanael under a fig tree where he had been before Philip had called him to come and see Jesus. Some commentators have interpreted Jesus’ reference to this fig tree figuratively as an allusion to Nathanael’s house. Ancient Near Easterners sometimes referred to peaceful habitation figuratively as resting under one’s vine and fig tree (1Ki 4:25; Isa 36:16; Zec 3:10). However there seems to be no good reason to prefer a figurative rather than a literal meaning here.