Nathanaël (i.e. Nathanel), an Israelite and Christian
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Nathanael names a disciple who appears in John's Gospel at the beginning of Jesus' public gathering of followers and again after the resurrection beside the Sea of Tiberias. The name should not be turned into a broad character study detached from John's scenes.
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Full entry for Ναθαναήλ (G3482) · Open the biblical lexicon
Nathanael names a disciple who appears in John's Gospel at the beginning of Jesus' public gathering of followers and again after the resurrection beside the Sea of Tiberias. The name should not be turned into a broad character study detached from John's scenes.
The BSB source-word alignment has 6 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include Nathanael (6).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at John 1:45. Its strongest book concentrations include John (6).
Nathanael names a disciple who appears in John's Gospel at the beginning of Jesus' public gathering of followers and again after the resurrection beside the Sea of Tiberias. The name should not be turned into a broad character study detached from John's scenes. Nathanael is first heard asking whether anything good can come from Nazareth, then he is met by Jesus' searching knowledge and confesses Him as Son of God and King of Israel.
The pastoral weight is not in the etymology of the name or later identification traditions. It lies in the encounter: honest questions are brought under Jesus' knowledge, and a man from Cana is drawn into confession and witness.
Nathanael appears in John 1 as Philip's invitee, as the man Jesus names a true Israelite, and as a confessor of Jesus. John 21 places him among disciples gathered after the resurrection.
“Can anything good come from Nazareth?” Nathanael asked. “Come and see,” said Philip.
Nathanael's Nazareth question sets the scene for honest skepticism met by invitation rather than argument.
When Jesus saw Nathanael approaching, He said of him, “Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is no deceit.”
Jesus names Nathanael a true Israelite in whom there is no deceit, showing that Jesus knows him before Nathanael understands Jesus.
“How do You know me?” Nathanael asked. Jesus replied, “Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree.”
Nathanael asks how Jesus knows him, and Jesus answers with knowledge that precedes Philip's call.
“Rabbi,” Nathanael answered, “You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”
Nathanael confesses Jesus as Son of God and King of Israel, moving from question to worshipful recognition.
Simon Peter, Thomas called Didymus, Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together.
Nathanael from Cana is among the gathered disciples after the resurrection, keeping his identity inside John's disciple witness.
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders ItA compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
Greek word. Nathanaël (i.e. Nathanel), an Israelite and Christian
:--Nathanael.
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
6 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Nathanael
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Read verseFull New Testament corpus: 260 chapters, 7,957 verses, 140,628 tokens. Data source: honza/textus-receptus (data only), with authority check against byztxt/greektext-textus-receptus.
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
This word appears as a noun across 2 case and number patterns. The form changes show how the word functions in a sentence; they do not change the basic lexical meaning by themselves.
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Hebrew roots and equivalents that share conceptual or etymological ground with this Greek word.
The core insight of Nathanael is that John's Gospel lets a named person move quickly from question to confession because Jesus takes the initiative in knowing him. Nathanael's first line about Nazareth can be taught honestly, but it should not become his whole identity. The passage does not celebrate prejudice or skepticism; it shows the mercy of being invited to come and see, then being exposed and welcomed by the One who knows before He is known.
Nathanael's confession reaches high: Son of God and King of Israel. The name therefore helps teachers show how Jesus meets real questions with personal knowledge and draws people into true witness.
John.1.49
Nathanael is a proper noun. Its meaning for the lexicon page comes from John's narrative referent and scenes, not from treating the name's derivation as the main theological claim.
Nathanael's true-Israelite language resonates with Scripture's concern for a people marked by truth before God, while his confession points to Jesus as the promised King of Israel.