John 1:48 BSB — MannaFest

John 1:48

“How do You know me?” Nathanael asked. Jesus replied, “Before Philip called you, I saw you under the fig tree.”

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee.

KJV

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.

⋯

Commentary

1 voice

Ambrose of Milan

Concerning Virginity 1.1.3-4 (397)

Would that Jesus would cast a glance on me still lying under that barren fig tree, and that my fig tree might also after three years bear fruit. But how can sinners have that kind of hope?

The record, by era

The Nineteenth Century3 voices

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible (1832)

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.

J.C. Ryle

1816–1900

Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: John (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1869)

Let us observe, as we read these verses, how various are the paths by which souls are led into the narrow way of life. We are told of a man, named Philip, being added to the little company of Christ's disciples. He does not appear to have been moved, like Andrew and his companions, by the testimony of John the Baptist. He was not drawn, like Simon Peter, by the out-spoken declaration of a brother. He seems to have been called directly by Christ Himself, and the agency of man seems not to have been used in his calling.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

Whence knowest thou me--conscious that his very heart had been read, and at this critical moment more than ever before. Before Philip called thee--showing He knew all that passed between Philip and him at a distance. when . . . under the fig tree, &c.--where retirement for meditation and prayer was not uncommon [LIGHTFOOT].

Voices on this verse

loading…

Original language & word study

22 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
λέγει	legei	Says	G3004 →
αὐτῷ	autō	to Him	G846 →
Ναθαναήλ·	Nathanaēl	Nathanael;	G3482 →
πόθεν	pothen	From where	G4159 →
με	me	me	G3165 →
γινώσκεις;	ginōskeis	know You?	G1097 →
ἀπεκρίθη	apekrithē	Answered	G611 →
Ἰησοῦς	Iēsous	Jesus	G2424 →
καὶ	kai	and	G2532 →
εἶπεν	eipen	said	G2036 →
αὐτῷ·	autō	to him;	G846 →
πρὸ	pro	Before	G4253 →
τοῦ	tou	<the>	G3588 →
σε	se	you	G4771 →
Φίλιππον	Philippon	Philip	G5376 →
φωνῆσαι	phōnēsai	calling	G5455 →
ὄντα	onta	being	G1510 →
ὑπὸ	hupo	under	G5259 →
τὴν	tēn	the	G3588 →
συκῆν	sukēn	fig tree	G4808 →
εἶδόν	eidon	I saw	G1492 →
σε.	se	you.	G4771 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
Isaiah 65:24
Even before they call, I will answer, and while they are still speaking, I will hear.
leads to
- Daniel 10:12
  “Do not be afraid, Daniel,” he said, “for from the first day that you purposed to understand and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response…
- 1 John 5:14–15
  And this is the confidence that we have before Him: If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.
- Mark 11:24
  Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
- Isaiah 58:9
  Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry out, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’ If you remove the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger and…
- Psalms 91:15
  When he calls out to Me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble. I will deliver him and honor him.
Through
Matthew 6:6
But when you pray, go into your inner room, shut your door, and pray to your Father, who is unseen. And your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
leads to
- 2 Kings 4:33
  So he went in, closed the door behind the two of them, and prayed to the LORD.
- Matthew 14:23
  After He had sent them away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. When evening came, He was there alone,
- Isaiah 65:24
  Even before they call, I will answer, and while they are still speaking, I will hear.

Featured studies on this passage

On John 1:48

Trees — Eden, Cross, New Jerusalem

Two trees stood in Eden and framed the first choice. One stood on Calvary and absorbed the consequence of the wrong one. The tree of life closes the canon, multiplied and unguarded.

Open the study →

Walks through John 1

The Binding of Isaac (Genesis 22), MannaFest

Open the study →

Allegory of Divine Wisdom — Andrea Sacchi

Walks through John 1

Wisdom Seen on Earth

Open the study →

Walks through John 1

The Gospels

Open the study →

Walks through John 1

Christ Our Wisdom: Proverbs 8 and the Wisdom of God. MannaFest

Open the study →

Walks through John 1

Creation to New Creation

The Bible begins in a garden and ends in a city — and the city has the garden in the middle of it. Seven explicit textual echoes bind Genesis 1–2 to Revelation 21–22.

Open the study →

About John

The Word Made Flesh — Gustave Doré (engraving), public domain

John: the study guide →Read chapter 1 →The featured study →

Continue: John 1 →

01Commentary

The record, by era

Voices on this verse

02Original language & word study

03The walk

Where the connections lead

04Related verses

05Featured studies on this passage

06About John

The record, by era

Where the connections lead

Commentary

Original language & word study

The walk

Related verses

Featured studies on this passage

About John