PARACLETUS (Ilapciariros). This word is applied to Christ in r John ii. 1. Indeed, in that famous passage in which Christ promises the Holy Spirit as a paraclete to his sorrowing disciples, he takes the title himself : I will send you another paraclete' (John xiv. 16), implying that he was himself one, and that on his departure he would send another. The question then is, In what sense does Christ denominate himself and the Spirit sent from him and the Father, 7rapcircXnros, paraclete? The answer to this is not to be found without some difficulty, and it becomes the more difficult from the fact that in genuine Greek the verb 7raparcaNcip has a variety of significations To call to a place ; to call to aid. 2. To admonish ; to per suade ; to incite. 3. To entreat ; to pray. To which may be added the Hellenistic signification, ' to console;" to soothe;" to encourage.' Finally, the Rabbins also in their language use the word NtV6p1D, peraklita ; a circumstance which must also be taken into consideration. In the explana tion of the word the leading circumstance to guide us must be to take that signification which is ap plicable to the different passages in which it occurs. For we may distinguish three explanations :—I. Origen explains it where it is applied to the Holy Spirit by Consolator' (7rapaktu9a7riis), while in r John ii. r he adopts the signification of Depre cator.' This is the course taken by most of the Greek commentators (Suicer, Thesaur., s. v.), and which has been followed by Erasmus, Luther, and others. But to this Tholuck and others object that, not to insist that the signification cannot be grammatically established (for no admissible in stance can be adduced where the passive 7ra/3c/ ram-es is used in an active sense for it is suitable to but a very few passages only, while to others it is either too circumscribed or alto gether inappropriate. 2. Aware of this, others, after the example of Theodore of Mopsuestia, sanctioned by Mede, Ernest], and others, would translate it teacher. But neither does this sense I seem adapted to all the passages. It would also be difficult to deduce it from the usages of the language ; for—not to mention that in this case also the active signification would be assumed for the passive form—we are pressed with the ques tion, whether the verb rapalcaXeiv can anywhere in the N. T. be found in the sense of ' to teach,'
as this hypothesis assumes. It is at least very cer tain that this sense never was transferred to the Rabbinical ; and since the word occurs here also, this must necessarily be taken into ac count in determining the signification. 3. The considerations which tell against these views dine the balance in favour of a third sense, which is that of assistant," helper,' advocate' (inter cessor). Demosthenes uses it with this force in a judicial sense (see Index, ed. Reiske) ; and it occurs in the same sense in Philo (see Lcesner, Obsemalt.), and in the Rabbinical dialect. It is supported by Rom. viii. 26, and, which is still more to the purpose, is appropriate to all the pas sages in the N. T. where the word occurs. After the example of the early Latin fathers, Calvin, Beza, Lampe, Bengel, Knapp, Kuinoel, Tittmann, and many others, have adopted this sense. Ter tullian and Augustine have advocate. The A. V. renders the word by advocate' in i John ii. 1, but in other places (John xiv. 16, 26 ; xv. 26 ; xvi. 7) by comforter.' How much better, however, the more extensive term helper' (in cluding teacher, monitor, advocate) agrees with these passages than the narrow term comforter,' may be shown by a single instance. Jesus says to his disciples, I will send you another paraclete' TJohn xiv. 16), implying that he himself had been such to them. But he had not been in any dis tinguishing sense a comforter' or consoler,' because, having Him present with them, they had not mourned (Matt. ix. 15). But he had been eminently a helper, in the extensive sense which has been indicated ; and such as he had been to them—to teach, to guide, and to uphold—the Holy Spirit would become to them after his re moval (see the Commentators above named, parti cularly Tholuck and Tittmann on John xiv. 16 ; also Knapp, De Sp. S. et Christi Paracleds, Halle 1790).—J. K.