02 — Nathanael in the Gospels
The Johannine episodes on which the whole figure of Nathanael — and therefore, in Orthodox tradition, of the Apostle Bartholomew — depends. Nathanael appears nowhere in the Synoptics or Acts; he is found only in the Fourth Gospel, at the calling of the first disciples (John 1:45–51) and among the seven who meet the risen Lord by the Sea of Tiberias (John 21:2). These files read those passages closely, for they are the sole narrative content the tradition has to work with.
Tradition: Pan-Orthodox (Apostle)
Everything narrative the tradition tells of Nathanael it draws from John. Philip finds him and announces the One “of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write” (John 1:45); Nathanael answers with the famous doubt, “Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?” (John 1:46); Philip replies, “Come and see.” The Lord greets him as “an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile,” tells him “I saw thee, when thou wast under the fig tree,” and Nathanael breaks into confession: “Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel” (John 1:47–49). This section unfolds that scene — the fig tree, the call, and the confession — and the later notice that places Nathanael “of Cana in Galilee” among the resurrection witnesses.
Files in This Section
| File | Description |
|---|---|
| Under the Fig Tree | “Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?”; Philip’s “come and see”; the Lord’s “I saw thee… under the fig tree” (John 1:45–48); the patristic and rabbinic resonance of the fig tree as the place of study and prayer; and the disclosure of Christ’s divine knowledge. |
| The Call and the Confession | Nathanael’s confession “the Son of God… the King of Israel” (John 1:49); the promise of “greater things” and “the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man” (John 1:50–51); and Nathanael “of Cana in Galilee” among the seven at the Sea of Tiberias (John 21:2). |
See Also
- Bartholomew and Nathanael — the identification that makes these passages the apostle’s story
- An Israelite Without Guile — the Lord’s first word over Nathanael
- St. John the Theologian — the evangelist whose Gospel alone preserves Nathanael
- Holy Scripture — the Johannine witness
References
- The Holy Bible, Revised Standard Version and King James Version. (John 1:45–51; 21:2.)
- Brown, Raymond E. The Gospel According to John I–XII. Anchor Bible 29. Garden City: Doubleday, 1966. (On the Nathanael pericope.)
- John Chrysostom. Homilies on the Gospel of St. John 20–21. Trans. Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series I, Vol. 14.