And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see.
And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Bethlehem, he perhaps remembered, was Messiah's predicted birthplace: Nazareth as a town had no place in prophecy, nor in the Old Testament at all. But its proverbial ill-repute may have been what directly suggested the doubt whether that could possibly be the place, of all places, whence Messiah was to issue. Philip saith unto him, Come and see. Noble remedy against pre-conceived opinions! exclaims Bengel. Philip, though probably unable to solve the difficulty, could show him where to get rid of it; and Nathanael takes his advice. See the note at John 6:68.