Paraclete

Etymology

The English term Paraclete comes from the Koine Greek word παράκλητος (paráklētos). A combination of para ('beside/alongside') and kalein ('to call'), the word first appears in the Bible in John 14:16. René Kieffer further explains the development of the meaning of this term:

Latin etymological precedent

Lochlan Shelfer suggests that the Greek term paraclete is a translation of the preceding Latin term advocatus:

This legalistic interpretation of the etymology contradicts the word found in the Septuagint translation of the Book of Job (Chapter 16, Verse 2), the meaning of which is specifically "comforter".

In Classical Greek

The term is not common in non-Jewish texts. The best-known use is by Demosthenes:

A Greek–English Lexicon cites the example of a court of justice.

A. called to one's aid, in a court of justice : as Subst., legal assistant, advocate, D.19.1, Lycurg. Fr.102, etc. 2. summoned, "δοῦλοι" D.C.46.20, cf. BGU601.12 (ii A.D.). II. intercessor, Ph.2.520 : hence in NT, Παράκλητος, of the Holy Spirit, Ev.Jo.14.16, cf. 1 Ep.Jo.2.1.}}

In Judaism

Philo speaks several times of "paraclete" advocates primarily in the sense of human intercessors.

The word later went from Hellenistic Jewish writing into rabbinic literature.

Other words are used to translate the Hebrew word מְנַחֵם mənaḥḥēm 'comforter' and מליץ יושר mliṣ yosher.

In Christianity

In the New Testament, paraclete appears only in the Johannine texts, and it is used only on five occasions: Gospel of John 14:16, 14:26, 15:26, 16:7, and First Epistle of John chapter 2, verse 1.

In John 14:16-17, 'paraclete' is Παράκλητον and 'spirit' is Πνεῦμα (pneuma), meaning 'breath'. Pneuma appears over 250 times in the Christian New Testament, and is the word used to refer to the Holy Spirit, i.e., the Spirit of God. As a result of the immediate explanation in John 14:17, the Paraclete in John 14:16 is considered to be the Holy Spirit.

M. E. Boring, writing in the Cambridge University Press journal New Testament Studies, describes a "striking similarity" between the defined attributes of what the Paraclete is, and is to do, and what the outcome of Christian prophecy has spoken to, explaining the Paraclete as the post-Passover gift of the Holy Spirit. "The Paraclete represents the Spirit as manifested in a particular way, as a pneumatic Christian speech charisma. Every verb describing the ministry of the Paraclete is directly related to his speech function."

The early church identified the Paraclete as the Holy Spirit. In first-century Jewish and Christian understanding, the presence of the Holy Spirit is to claim the rebirth of prophecy.

During his period as a hermit in the mid-12th century, Peter Abelard dedicated his chapel to the Paraclete because "I had come there as a fugitive and, in the depths of my despair, was granted some comfort by the grace of God."

Today, the Holy Spirit continues to be referred to as the Paraclete in a prayer known as the Divine Praises, recited during Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.

Scholarly interpretations

quotes Jesus as saying "another Paraclete" will come to help his disciples, implying, according to Lawrence Lutkemeyer, that Jesus is the first and primary Paraclete. In Jesus himself is called "paraclete".

Raymond Brown (1970), supported by George Johnston (2005), also says that the "another Paraclete" of John 14:16 is in many ways another Jesus, the presence of Jesus after Jesus ascends to his Father.

The Gospel of Matthew twice uses the passive form of the corresponding verb παρακαλῶ, in 2:18 and 5:4. In both instances, the context is of mourning, and the meaning of the verb is 'to be comforted'.

Paraclete first appearing in gospel

Here is the context of the passage in John 14:15-27 with the translation of Paraclete as Advocate shown in bold:

22 Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, “But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?”

23 Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. 24 Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.

25 “All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.}}

In Islam

Main article: Ahmad#Interpretations and meanings of Ahmad

Many Muslim writers have argued that "another Paraclete" (John 14:16)—the first being Jesus—refers to Muhammad. This claim is based on Quran 61:6.

A few Muslim commentators, such as David Benjamin Keldani (1928), have argued the theory that the original Koine Greek used was Periklutos, meaning 'famed, illustrious, or praiseworthy', rendered in Arabic as Aḥmad (another name of Muhammad), and that this was substituted by Christians with parakletos. There are currently no known Greek manuscripts with this reading (all extant Greek manuscripts read παράκλητος parakletos), although the earliest manuscript evidence available is from the 3rd century.

Regarding what the original Greek term was, according to A. Guthrie and E. F. F. Bishop:

Sean Anthony agrees that the connection of Ahmad to the Paraclete in the Gospel of John may have been a later tradition that is not found in the work of Ibn Ishaq and that the earliest extant attempts by Muslims to connect these two figures that inspire later discussion on the subject goes back to Ibn Hisham and Ibn Qutaybah.

A later interpolation of this passage to the Quran has been rejected in modern Islamic studies. This has been supported by the fact that the earliest as well as the later manuscripts of the Quran contain the same passage and wording in chapter 61.

Historical development

In Łewond's version of the correspondence between the Byzantine emperor Leo III () and the Umayyad caliph Umar II (), a letter is attributed to Leo: By the 8th-century, the identification of the Paraclete with Muhammad was already a known concept. Evidence shows that the Abbasid caliph al-Mahdi () debated the concept with the influential Christian patriarch Timothy I (d. 823). The Persian theologian Ali al-Tabari (d. 870) believed that only Muhammad could have been the Paraclete since he taught people what they previously didn't know. The Syrian scholar Ibn Abi Talib al-Dimashqi (d. 1327) asserts that the verses were generally believed to be about the coming of a prophet, until the reign of Constantine I () when the Christian priests altered the verses to refer to the Holy Spirit, fearing that Constantine would recognize the true faith.

References

Bibliography

References

1. "Paraclete | Origin and meaning of paraclete by Online Etymology Dictionary".
2. Kieffer, René, "John," in John Barton and John Muddiman, eds., ''The Oxford Bible Commentary''. Oxford University Press, 2007, 987.
3. Shelfer, Lochlan. (2009). "The Legal Precision of the Term 'πάράkλητος'". SAGE.
4. ""Paraclete" in Ancient Secular, Jewish, and Christian Texts - Marg Mowczko".
5. According to ''[[Bauer's Lexicon]]'': "the technical meaning 'lawyer', 'attorney' is rare."
6. For a summary of rabbinical usage see [http://jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=64&letter=P Jewish Encyclopedia 1914 "Paraclete"]
7. The Orthodox Jewish Brit Chadasha Bible Translation
8. (October 1978). "The Influence of Christian Prophecy on the Johannine Portrayal of the Paraclete and Jesus". New Testament Studies.
9. (2011). "Historical Theology: An Introduction to Christian Doctrine". [[Zondervan]].
10. "The Letters of Abelard and Heloise", Betty Radice, Trans. London: Penguin, 1973. P. 30
11. Lutkemeyer, Lawrence J.. (1946). "THE ROLE OF THE PARACLETE (Jn. 16:7-15)". The Catholic Biblical Quarterly.
12. Brown, Raymond Edward, ed. ''The gospel according to John. Vol. 29.'' Cambridge University Press, 1970, 1141. Brown writes; "Thus, the one whom John calls "another Paraclete" is another Jesus. Since the Paraclete can come only when Jesus departs, the Paraclete is the presence of Jesus when Jesus is absent. Jesus' promises to dwell within his disciples are"
13. Kinn, James W. ''The Spirit of Jesus in Scripture and prayer''. Rowman & Littlefield, 2004, 60. Winn writes; "Second, the whole complex of parallels above leads Raymond Brown to a more profound conclusion: the Holy Spirit continues the presence of Jesus. Thus the one whom Jesus calls "another Paraclete" is in many ways another Jesus, ."
14. Johnston, George. ''The spirit-paraclete in the gospel of John. Vol. 12.'' Cambridge University Press, 2005, 94. Johnston writes; "Brown cannot regard such parallelism as coincidental, and he is perfectly correct. His conclusion is that 'as "another Paraclete" the Paraclete is, as it were, another Jesus ... and the Paraclete is the presence of Jesus when Jesus is "
15. Marthaler, Berard L. ''The creed: The apostolic faith in contemporary theology.'' Twenty-Third Publications, 1993, 275. Marthaler writes; "Thus," writes Brown, "the one whom John calls 'another Paraclete' is another Jesus."17 The Paraclete is the presence of God in the world when Jesus ascends to the Father."
16. [https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/morph?l=paraka%5Ele%2Fw&la=greek&can=paraka%5Ele%2Fw0#lexicon Greek Word Study Tool (publisher=Perseus.tufts.edu): παρακαλέω, A, III, 2]
17. {{bibleverse. John. 14:15-14:27
18. Donzel, E. Van and B. Lewis, Ch. Pellat. "Isa" in ''[https://archive.org/details/EncyclopaediaOfIslamVol51KheMahi Encyclopedia of Islam Volume 4]'', 1997, 83.
19. Watt (1991) pp. 33–34
20. Elliott, James Keith. (2010). "Papyrus 66}} & {{cite web". Institut für Neutestamentliche Textforschung.
21. A. Guthrie and E. F. F. Bishop, p.253–254.
22. Watt, W. Montgomery. (April 1953). "His Name is Ahmad". The Muslim World.
23. A. Guthrie and E. F. F. Bishop, The Paraclete, Almunhamanna and Ahmad, Muslim World XLI (October, 1951), p.254–255; italics: emphasis in original.
24. Anthony, Sean. (2016). "Muḥammad, Menaḥem, and the Paraclete: new light on Ibn Isḥāq's (d. 150/767) Arabic version of John 15: 23–16: 1". Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies.
25. "Ibid. p. 274.".
26. "Déroche, Catalogue Des Manuscrits Arabes: Deuxième Partie: Manuscrits Musulmans - Tome I, 1: Les Manuscrits Du Coran: Aux Origines De La Calligraphie Coranique, 1983.".
27. "Sahin et al., The 1400th Anniversary Of The Qur'an, 2010, Museum of Turkish and Islamic Art Collection, Antik A.S. Cultural Publications".
28. "A. George, The Rise Of Islamic Calligraphy, 2010, Saqi Books: London (UK), pp. 75-80 & p. 148; F. B. Flood, The Qur'an, in H. C. Evans & B. Ratliff (Eds.), Byzantium And Islam: Age Of Transition 7th - 9th Century, 2012, Metropolitan Museum of Art: New York (USA)".
29. (1944). "Ghevond's Text of the Correspondence between 'Umar II and Leo III". The Harvard Theological Review.