Nathanaël (i.e. Nathanel) · noun — nominative singular masculine, a proper name
said
εἶπενeipen
G2036
to speak or say (by word or writing) · verb — second aorist active indicative, 3rd person singular
him
αὐτῷautō
G846
the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — dative singular masculine
there
δύναταίdunatai
G1410
to be able or possible · verb — present middle or passive deponent indicative, 3rd person singular
any
τίςtís
G5101
an interrogative pronoun
good
ἀγαθὸνagathon
G18
"good" (in any sense · adjective — nominative singular neuter
thing
τίςtís
G5101
an interrogative pronoun
come
εἶναι;einai
G1511
to exist · verb — present active infinitive
of
ἐκek
G1537
literal or figurative · preposition
Nazareth
ΝαζαρὲτNazaret
G3478
Nazareth or Nazaret · noun — genitive singular feminine, a place
Philip
Φίλιππος·Philippos
G5376
fond of horses · noun — nominative singular masculine, a proper name
saith
λέγειlegei
G3004
properly · verb — present active indicative, 3rd person singular
him
αὐτῷautō
G846
the reflexive pronoun self · personal pronoun — dative singular masculine
Come
ἔρχουerchou
G2064
to come or go (in a great variety of applications · verb — present middle or passive deponent imperative, 2nd person singular
and
καὶkai
G2532
and · conjunction
see
ἴδε.¶ide
G1492
used only in certain past tenses · verb — second aorist active imperative, 2nd person singular
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
John 7:52 They answered and said unto him, Art thou also of Galilee? Search, and look: for out of Galilee ariseth no prophet.
John 7:41-42 Others said, This is the Christ. But some said, Shall Christ come out of Galilee?
John 4:29 Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?
Luke 12:57 Yea, and why even of yourselves judge ye not what is right?
Luke 4:28-29 And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath,
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on John 1:43–end
We have here the call of Philip and Nathanael.
I. Philip was called immediately by Christ himself, not as Andrew, who was directed to Christ by John, or Peter, who was invited by his brother. God has various methods of bringing his chosen ones home to himself. But, whatever means he uses, he is not tied to any. 1. Philip was called in a preventing was: Jesus findeth Philip. Christ sought us, and found us, before we made any enquiries after him. The name Philip is of Greek origin, and much used among the Gentiles, which some make an instance of the degeneracy of the Jewish church at this time, and their conformity to the nations; yet Christ changed not his name. 2. He was called the day follo…
any good out of Nazareth--remembering Bethlehem, perhaps, as Messiah's predicted birthplace, and Nazareth having no express prophetic place at all, besides being in no repute. The question sprang from mere dread of mistake in a matter so vital.
Come and see--Noble remedy against preconceived opinions [BENGEL]. Philip, though he could not perhaps solve his difficulty, could show him how to get rid of it. (See on Joh 6:68).
Adam Clarke on John 1:46
Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? - Bp. Pearce supposes that the τι αγαθον of the evangelist has some particular force in it: for, in Jer 33:14, God says, I will perform that good thing which I promised, etc.; and this, in Jer 33:15 is explained to mean, his causing the branch of righteousness (i.e. the Messiah) to grow up unto David, from whom Jesus was descended: in this view, Nathanael's question seems to imply, that not Nazareth, but Bethlehem, was to be the birth-place of the Messiah, according to what the chief priests and scribes had determined, Mat 2:4-6. If this conjecture be not thought solid, we may suppose that Nazareth, at this time, was become so abandoned that no…
He who alone is absolutely holy, harmless, undefiled; of whom the prophet saith, There shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch (Nazaraeus) shall grow out of his roots. (Isaiah 11:1) Or the words may be taken as expressing doubt, and asking the question.
(Tr. vii. c. 15, 16, 17) However you may understand these words, Philip's answer will suit. You may read it either as affirmatory, Something good can come out of Nazareth; to which the other says, Come and see: or you may read it as a question, implying doubt on Nathanael's part, Can any good thing come out of Nazareth? Come and see. Since either way of reading agrees equally with what follows, we must inquire the meaning of the passage. Nathanael was well read in the Law, and therefore the word Nazareth (Philip having said that he had found Jesus of Nazareth) immediately raises his hopes, and he exclaims, Something good can come out of Nazareth. He had searched the Scriptures, and knew, what the Scribes and Pharisees could not, that the Saviour was to be expected thence.
This is not exactly the way this sentence appears, but rather it should be understood in a different and more doubtful sense, as in "How is it possible that anything good comes out of Nazareth?" In fact, among the Jews the name of that village was much despised, because a great number of its inhabitants were pagans, and it seemed impossible that anything good might come out from there. Therefore also the Pharisees said to Nicodemus, "Search and you will see that no prophet is to arise from Galilee." And so it is only right that Philip says to Nathanael, "Come and see." Since there is now a contrast to that old opinion, [he seems to be saying], I promise to show you the real facts. This was superfluous, otherwise, for someone who had once believed in the truth.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Humiliation of Christ — (Phil. 2:8), seen in (1) his birth (Gal. 4:4; Luke 2:7; John 1:46; Heb. 2:9), (2) his circumstances, (3) his reputation (Isa. 53; Matt. 26:59, 67; Ps. 22:6; Matt. 26:68), (4) his soul (Ps. 22:1;…
Jesus — (1.) Joshua, the son of Nun (Acts 7:45; Heb. 4:8; R.V., “Joshua”). (2.) A Jewish Christian surnamed Justus (Col. 4:11). Je’sus, the proper, as Christ is the official, name of our Lord. To distinguish…
Nazareth — Separated, generally supposed to be the Greek form of the Hebrew netser, a “shoot” or “sprout.” Some, however, think that the name of the city must be connected with the name of the hill behind it,…
Missionaries, All Christians Should Be As · In inviting others to embrace the gospel — In inviting others to embrace the gospel
Nathanael · Becomes a disciple of Jesus — Becomes a disciple of Jesus
Nazareth · Its reputation — Its reputation
Philip · .Brings Nathanael to Jesus — .Brings Nathanael to Jesus
Proverbs · 4:23;6:44;14:34; — 4:23;6:44;14:34;
Uncharitableness · .Nathanael, when he said, “ — .Nathanael, when he said, “
Zeal, Religious · EXEMPLIFIE — EXEMPLIFIE
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
And Nathanael said unto him,.... Taking notice of, and laying hold on what Philip said, that he was of Nazareth, which at once stumbled, and prejudiced him against Jesus being the Messiah; knowing very well that Bethlehem was to be the place of his birth:
can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? The whole country of Galilee was had in contempt with the Jews; but Nazareth was so mean a place, that it seems it was even despised by its neighbours, by the Galilaeans themselves; for Nathanael was a Galilean, that said these words. It was so miserable a place that he could hardly think that any sort of good thing, even any worldly good thing, could come from thence; and it was so wicked, as…
John 1:43-46
43. The next day Jesus wished to go into Galilee, and found Philip, and said to him, Follow me. 44. Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45. Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith to him, We have found Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph, of whom Moses in the Law, and the Prophets write. 46. Nathanael said to him, Can any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip said to him, Come and see.
43. Follow me. When Philip was inflamed by this single word to follow Christ, we infer from it how great is the efficacy of the word of God; but it does not appear indiscriminately in all, for God addresses many without any advantage, just as if he struck their ears with a…
