John 1:38

1:38 Jesus turned around and saw them following and said to them, “What do you want?” ¹  So they said to him, “Rabbi” (which is translated Teacher), ²  “where are you staying?”

John 1:49

1:49 Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God; you are the king ³  of Israel!” ⁴ 

[1:38]  ¹ tn Grk “What are you seeking?”

[1:38]  ² sn This is a parenthetical note by the author.

[1:49]  ³ tn Although βασιλεύς (basileus) lacks the article it is definite due to contextual and syntactical considerations. See ExSyn 263.

[1:49]  ⁴ sn Nathanael’s confession – You are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel – is best understood as a confession of Jesus’ messiahship. It has strong allusions to Ps 2:6-7, a well-known messianic psalm. What Nathanael’s exact understanding was at this point is hard to determine, but “son of God” was a designation for the Davidic king in the OT, and Nathanael parallels it with King of Israel here.