Ῥαββεί, he exclaims, σὺ εἶ ὁ υἱὸς τοῦ θεοῦ, σὺ βασιλεὺς εἶ του Ἰσραήλ. Nathanael had been praying for the manifestation of the Messiah: now he exclaims Thou art He. That Nathanael used both expressions, Son of God, and King of Israel, we may well believe, for he found both in the second Psalm. And it is probable that he used both as identifying Jesus with the Messiah (see chap. John 11:27; John 12:13-15). It is not likely that he would pass from a higher designation to a lower; more probable that by the second title he means more closely to define the former. Thou art the Son of God, fulfilling the ideal of sonship and actually realising all that prophecy has uttered regarding the Son of God: Thou art the ideal, long-expected King of Israel, in whom God's reign and kingdom are realised on earth. “The words are an echo of the testimony of the Baptist. Nothing can be more natural than to suppose that the language of John had created strange questionings in the hearts of some whom it had reached, and that it was with such thoughts Nathanael was busied when the Lord ‘saw' him. If this were so, the confession of Nathanael may be an answer to his own doubts” (Westcott).

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Old Testament