How do you know me? (so most translations) is literally “From where do you know me?” However, there are parallels both in Semitic and Classical Greek to indicate that the adverb “from where” may be used in the sense of “how.” How do you know me? may, of course, be interpreted merely in the sense of “How do you know who I am?” But the focus in this context seems to be more upon Jesus’ knowledge about Nathanael’s character, and therefore a more appropriate equivalent may be “How do you know what sort of a person I am?”

A number of suggestions have been offered as to what Jesus meant by under the fig tree, but there is no consensus among scholars as to its meaning. It is best to take the phrase merely as a way of indicating the supernatural knowledge of Jesus, and not to try to find a symbolic meaning in the expression. That is, these words are best taken as a specific instance of Jesus’ ability to know all things, an emphasis brought out clearly in the Gospel of John.

Two translational problems are involved in the clause when you were under the fig tree. First, the use of the definite article the suggests a tree already mentioned in the context. The fig tree, however, can be regarded as definite only in the sense that it was the one already known to Nathanael, who was sitting under it. This type of meaning is difficult to communicate in some languages, and thus there is a tendency to employ such a rendering as “under a fig tree.”

Secondly, there is a problem in identifying the tree as one that produces a particular kind of fruit named “figs.” The tree can be identified by a borrowed term based on the sound of the word “fig.” However, unless it is identified as a particular kind of fruit tree often grown in home gardens for shade, much of the meaning may be lost. A full identification may be reflected in such a translation as “under a fruit tree producing fruit called figs,” but this type of rendering is over-elaborate and sounds like a legal language. Accordingly, the tendency is to use a generic expression, for example, “under a fruit tree” or “under a tree called fig.” In some languages there is an additional complication in speaking about being “under a tree,” for this may imply “in the ground under a tree,” in the sense of being buried. In such languages it is necessary to say “in the shade of a tree.”

In some languages it may be important to alter the order of the clauses in the statement made by Jesus so that they will seem to approximate more closely the chronological order of events. Since Nathanael’s being in the shade of the fig tree was presumably for a longer period of time than Jesus’ actual “seeing” him, and since both these events took place before Philip called Nathanael, it may be useful to translate as follows: “While you were still under the fig tree, I saw you there; and later Philip called you.”

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 .