Philip is first mentioned in 1.43; Bethsaida, his home town, first appears in 1.44. The parenthetical insertion (he was from Bethsaida in Galilee) is restructured as a relative clause by Die Bibel im heutigen Deutsch: “Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said….” Galilee may have been mentioned because of its association with Gentiles. Perhaps the Greeks approached Philip because he had a Greek name and, being from Galilee, was more likely to be able to speak Greek.

Said (so most translations) is more literally “were asking him saying” (Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible “put this request to him”). The word translated Sir can also mean “Lord” in the technical Christian sense, but its meaning is obvious in the present context, since Philip is the one addressed.

In this context the verb to see means “to meet and talk with.” (For a similar usage of this same verb see Luke 8.20; 9.9; Acts 28.20.)

Quoted with permission from Newman, Barclay M. and Nida, Eugene A. A Handbook on the Gospel of John. (UBS Handbook Series). New York: UBS, 1980. For this and other handbooks for translators see here .