Cornelius a Lapide

Now Philip was of Bethsaida, &c. John adds this, says Digitized by V^rOOQie PHILIP AND NATHANAEL. &> Theophylact, to intimate that Andrew and Peter had previously informed Philip, who was their townsman, that they had found the Messiah, and that He was Jesus of Nazareth. Wherefore Philip, as soon as he heard Christ call, Follow Me, immediately followed Him, because his mind was already prepared, and eager for Christ Moreover, Bethsaida was contiguous to the Sea of Galilee, and near Caphamaum, where Peter and Andrew had a house, as we learn from the 8th of S. Matthew. This, then, was the country of three of the Apostles, namely, Peter, Andrew, and Philip. Bethsaida means in Hebrew the house of hunting, or fishing, because fishermen, such as Peter and Andrew, dwelt there, and caught fish in the neighbouring sea