John 1:38

1:38 Jesus turned around and saw them following and said to them, “What do you want?” 1  So they said to him, “Rabbi” (which is translated Teacher), 2  “where are you staying?”

John 1:49

1:49 Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king 3  of Israel!” 4 

1 tn Grk “What are you seeking?”

2 sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

3 tn Although βασιλεύς (basileus) lacks the article it is definite due to contextual and syntactical considerations. See ExSyn 263.

4 sn Nathanael’s confession – You are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel – is best understood as a confession of Jesus’ messiahship. It has strong allusions to Ps 2:6-7, a well-known messianic psalm. What Nathanael’s exact understanding was at this point is hard to determine, but “son of God” was a designation for the Davidic king in the OT, and Nathanael parallels it with King of Israel here.