He first found his own brother, Simon, and said to him, "We have found the Messiah!" (which is, being interpreted, Christ{"Messiah" (Hebrew) and "Christ" (Greek) both mean "Anointed One".}).

 (ii) On the same basis, it has been suggested that he stands either for Paul or for the beloved disciple. Paul was the great example of the Israelite who had accepted Christ; the beloved disciple was the ideal disciple. Again the supposition is that Nathanael stands for an ideal; that he is a type and not a person. If this were the only mention of Nathanael that might be true; but Nathanael appears again in John 21:2 and there is no thought of him as an ideal there. 