John 21:2

2 Simon Peter, Thomas called Didymus, [a] Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together.

John 21:2 Meaning and Commentary

John 21:2

There were together
In one place, in one house, in some town, or city of Galilee, not far from the sea of Tiberias; nor, as very likely, far from the mountain where Christ had promised to meet them. Simon Peter, who though he had denied his Lord, dearly loved him, and truly believed in him, kept with the rest of his disciples, and was waiting for another interview with him:

and Thomas, called Didymus;
who, though for a while an unbeliever with respect to the resurrection of Christ, was now fully assured of it, and, for the future, was unwilling to lose any opportunity of meeting with his risen Lord.

And Nathanael of Cana in Galilee;
an Israelite indeed, in whom there was no guile. Dr. Lightfoot thinks he is the same with Bartholomew, and so one of the eleven. The Syriac version reads it, "Cotne", and the Persic, Catneh of Galilee; no doubt the same place is meant, where Jesus turned water into wine, of which Nathanael was an inhabitant:

and the sons of Zebedee;
who were James, whom Herod killed with the sword, and John, the writer of this Gospel:

and two other of his disciples;
who are thought to be Andrew and Philip; which is very likely, since they were both of Bethsaida, ( John 1:44 ) a city in Galilee, and not far from the sea of Tiberias. Andrew is particularly mentioned by Nonnus: so that here were seven of them in all; four of them, according to this account, being wanting; who must be James the less, the brother of our Lord, Judas called Lebbaeus, and surnamed Thaddaeus, Simon the Canaanite, or Zealot, and Matthew the publican.

John 21:2 In-Context

1 Later, by the Sea of Tiberias, Jesus again revealed Himself to the disciples. He made Himself known in this way:
2 Simon Peter, Thomas called Didymus, Nathanael from Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two other disciples were together.
3 Simon Peter told them, “I am going fishing.” “We will go with you,” they said. So they went out and got into the boat, but caught nothing that night.
4 Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not recognize that it was Jesus.
5 So He called out to them, “Children, do you have any fish?” “No,” they answered.

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. Didymus means the twin.
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