Who Was Nathaniel ?

[Apple Sky]

Was he a disciple ?

 

[St_Worm2]

Was he a disciple?

Yes, he was one of the 12, and not only that, he had two names to boot, because unlike the Gospel of John (e.g. John 1:45-51) where he is known as Nathaneal, he is called Barthalomew in the Synoptics instead.

God bless you!!

--David
p.s. - here are a couple of short articles that you might enjoy.

~Who was Nathanael in the Bible? | GotQuestions.org​

~Who were the twelve (12) disciples / apostles of Jesus Christ? | GotQuestions.org​

 

[ViaCrucis]

Yes, he was one of the 12, and not only that, he had two names to boot, because unlike the Gospel of John (e.g. John 1:45-51) where he is known as Nathaneal, he is called Barthalomew in the Synoptics instead.

God bless you!!

--David
p.s. - here are a couple of short articles that you might enjoy.

~Who was Nathanael in the Bible? | GotQuestions.org​

~Who were the twelve (12) disciples / apostles of Jesus Christ? | GotQuestions.org​

Something that isn't always obvious to us modern readers, but whenever see names that start with "Bar-" that means it's basically a surname of sorts. The Aramaic word "bar" serves the same purpose and has the same meaning as the Hebrew word "ben", meaning "son of". So, for example, Barnabas is literally something like bar-Naba, the "son of Naba", his given name was Joseph (Joses is also mentioned, which is a shortened form of Joseph).

As an aside, because I'm not comfortably leaving this out, there is some debate on the precise etymology of Barnabas.

And as a second aside: Less ambiguous, but also genuinely fascinating is the case of the figure of Barabbas, literally bar-Abba, "son of [the] father". In the Syriac biblical tradition his name is actually given as "Yeshu bar Abba" or "Jesus, son of the father"--and not a few commentators have been fascinated by the irony that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the bona fide Son of God the Father is the One who was condemned, while a violent insurrectionist by the name of [Jesus] Bar-Abba was let go.

All of this to say, that there are two names for the same Apostle isn't strange (that was pretty common); in this case it makes a lot of sense if his given name was Nathaniel, and his surname was Barthalomew, so his name would have been Nathaniel bar-Tolmai, Nathaniel the son of Tolmai.

-CryptoLutheran

 

[St_Worm2]

Something that isn't always obvious to us modern readers, but whenever see names that start with "Bar-" that means it's basically a surname of sorts. The Aramaic word "bar" serves the same purpose and has the same meaning as the Hebrew word "ben", meaning "son of". So, for example, Barnabas is literally something like bar-Naba, the "son of Naba", his given name was Joseph (Joses is also mentioned, which is a shortened form of Joseph).

As an aside, because I'm not comfortably leaving this out, there is some debate on the precise etymology of Barnabas.

And as a second aside: Less ambiguous, but also genuinely fascinating is the case of the figure of Barabbas, literally bar-Abba, "son of [the] father". In the Syriac biblical tradition his name is actually given as "Yeshu bar Abba" or "Jesus, son of the father"--and not a few commentators have been fascinated by the irony that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the bona fide Son of God the Father is the One who was condemned, while a violent insurrectionist by the name of [Jesus] Bar-Abba was let go.

All of this to say, that there are two names for the same Apostle isn't strange (that was pretty common); in this case it makes a lot of sense if his given name was Nathaniel, and his surname was Barthalomew, so his name would have been Nathaniel bar-Tolmai, Nathaniel the son of Tolmai.

-CryptoLutheran

Thanks for sharing this with us Brother, as it's not only interesting, but important to know!

God bless you!!

--David

 

[Fervent]

And as a second aside: Less ambiguous, but also genuinely fascinating is the case of the figure of Barabbas, literally bar-Abba, "son of [the] father". In the Syriac biblical tradition his name is actually given as "Yeshu bar Abba" or "Jesus, son of the father"--and not a few commentators have been fascinated by the irony that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the bona fide Son of God the Father is the One who was condemned, while a violent insurrectionist by the name of [Jesus] Bar-Abba was let go.

While it is probably best not to press the issue too much, it seems to me that there are at least partial parallels to the twin goats in the day of atonement rituals and Jesus/barabbas that I suspect aren't purely coincidental.

 

[ViaCrucis]

While it is probably best not to press the issue too much, it seems to me that there are at least partial parallels to the twin goats in the day of atonement rituals and Jesus/barabbas that I suspect aren't purely coincidental.

That's an interesting thought I don't think I've come across before. I agree, maybe not best to press too much--but that is a fascinating thought if nothing else.

-CryptoLutheran

 

[Fervent]

That's an interesting thought I don't think I've come across before. I agree, maybe not best to press too much--but that is a fascinating thought if nothing else.

-CryptoLutheran

Yeah, when it occurred to me I was a bit surprised I'd never heard anyone mention the idea. Then again, most of the time when Barabbas is being discussed it is the crowd's response that is the focus.

 

[Apple Sky]

All of this to say, that there are two names for the same Apostle isn't strange (that was pretty common); in this case it makes a lot of sense if his given name was Nathaniel, and his surname was Barthalomew, so his name would have been Nathaniel bar-Tolmai, Nathaniel the son of Tolmai.

What did Jesus mean when he said this to his disciples about Nathaniel “If I want him to remain until I return, what is that to you?' John 21:21

 

[St_Worm2]

Hello again @Apple Sky, there is a pretty solid consensus that the beloved disciple, who is mentioned several times in the Gospel of John (but nowhere else in the Bible), is actually the Apostle John, not Nathaneal (take special note below of what John says in John 21:24).

~Who was the disciple whom Jesus loved? | GotQuestions.org

As far as what the Lord meant by...................

John 21​

20 Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them; the one who also had leaned back on His bosom at the supper and said, “Lord, who is the one who betrays You?” ​

21 So Peter seeing him said to Jesus, “Lord, and what about this man?” ​

22 Jesus said to him, “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me!” ​

23 Therefore this saying went out among the brethren that that disciple would not die; yet Jesus did not say to him that he would not die, but only, “If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you?” ​

24 This is the disciple who is testifying to these things and ~wrote these things~, and we know that his testimony is true. ​

.....................I believe that the Lord says what He does to Peter in v22 to get his concern and focus back to where it needed to be, on the Lord, and on the extraordinarily important tasks and mission that He gave him to fulfill (e.g. John 21:15-17).

I also believe that Peter's question (v21) about John, the beloved disciple, was most likely in response to what the Lord had just said to him (in John 21:18-19) about his (Peter's) own future and death.

God bless you!!

--David
p.s. - here's an excerpt from one of my commentaries on John 21:22 (though all of my commentaries basically say the same, just FYI).

22. Jesus said to him, If I will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me! ​

​

By means of these words the Lord impresses upon Peter’s mind the fact that curiosity about John’s future must make way for obedience to the Lord’s all-important command, “Follow me … Feed my lambs … Shepherd my sheep … Feed my dear sheep.” Peter must not be so deeply interested in God’s secret counsel (regarding John) that he fails to pay attention to God’s revealed will! ​

​

It is a lesson which every believer in every age should take to heart.​

There is work to be done. There are souls to be reached. There is a task to be accomplished. Let Peter rivet all his attention upon this! ~Hendriksen, W., & Kistemaker, S. J. (1953–2001). Exposition of the Gospel According to John (Vol. 2, p. 491). Baker Book House.​