Nathanael said unto him, Where do you know me? Jesus answered and said unto him,
Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.
All Commentaries on John 1:48 Go To John 1
Cyril of Alexandria
AD 444
Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig-tree, I saw thee.
The Saviour undid his surmise, saying that even before his meeting and conversing with Philip, He had seen him under the fig-tree, though not present in Body. Very profitably are both the fig-tree and the place named, pledging to him the truth of his having been seen. For he that has already accurate knowledge of what was with him, will readily be admitted.
