Nathanael (Hebrew נתנאל, gr, ναθαναηλ, "God has given"), also known as Nathaniel of

Cana Cana of Galilee ( grc, Κανὰ τῆς Γαλιλαίας; ar, قانا الجليل , translit= Qana al-Jalil , lit=Qana of the Galilee) is the location of the Marriage at Cana, at which the miracle of turning water into wine took place in ...

was a

disciple A disciple is a follower and student of a mentor, teacher, or other figure. It can refer to: Religion * Disciple (Christianity), a student of Jesus Christ * Twelve Apostles of Jesus, sometimes called the Twelve Disciples * Seventy disciples in t ...

of Jesus, mentioned only in Chapters 1 and 21 of the Gospel of John.

History

In John's Gospel, Nathanael is introduced as a friend of Philip, from

Bethsaida Bethsaida (; from gr, Βηθσαϊδά from Hebrew/Aramaic ''beth-tsaida'', lit. " house of hunting" from the Hebrew root ; ar, بيت صيدا), also known as Julias, is a place mentioned in the New Testament. Julias lay in an administrative di ...

. The first disciples called by Jesus are all portrayed as reaching out immediately to family or friends: thus, Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the

law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vari ...

, and also the prophets, wrote — Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph”. Nathanael is described as initially being skeptical about whether the Messiah could come from Nazareth, saying: "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?", but nonetheless, he accepts Philip's invitation to find out. Jesus immediately characterizes him as "an Israelite in whom is no deceit". Some scholars hold that Jesus' quote "Before Philip called you, when you were under the

fig tree ''Ficus'' ( or ) is a genus of about 850 species of woody trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes and hemiepiphytes in the family Moraceae. Collectively known as fig trees or figs, they are native throughout the tropics with a few species extending int ...

, I saw you", is based on a Jewish figure of speech, referring to studying the Torah. Nathanael recognizes Jesus as "the Son of God" and "the King of Israel". He reappears (as "Nathanael of

") at the end of John's Gospel, as one of the disciples to whom Jesus appeared at the Sea of Galilee after the Resurrection. Nathanael has often been identified with

Bartholomew the Apostle Bartholomew ( Aramaic: ; grc, Βαρθολομαῖος, translit=Bartholomaîos; la, Bartholomaeus; arm, Բարթողիմէոս; cop, ⲃⲁⲣⲑⲟⲗⲟⲙⲉⲟⲥ; he, בר-תולמי, translit=bar-Tôlmay; ar, بَرثُولَماو ...

mentioned in the

synoptic gospels The gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke are referred to as the synoptic Gospels because they include many of the same stories, often in a similar sequence and in similar or sometimes identical wording. They stand in contrast to John, whose con ...

and .

References

Twelve Apostles Gospel of John People from Bethsaida {{Christianity-bio-stub