Paraclete (; ) is a Christian biblical term occurring five times in the Johannine texts of the New Testament. In Christian theology, the word commonly refers to the Holy Spirit and is translated as 'advocate', 'counsellor' or 'helper'.
Etymology
The English term Paraclete comes from the Koine Greek word (). A combination of ('beside/alongside') and ('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:
<blockquote>The word is a verbal adjective, often used of one called to help in a lawcourt. In the Jewish tradition the word was transcribed with Hebrew letters and used for angels, prophets, and the just as advocates before God's court. The word also acquired the meaning of 'one who consoles' (cf. Job 16:2, Theodotion's and Aquila's translations; the LXX has the correct word ). It is probably wrong to explain the Johannine on the basis of only one religious background. The word is filled with a complex meaning: the Spirit replaces Jesus, is an advocate and a witness, but also consoles the disciples.</blockquote>
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.
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 'comforter' and .
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 and 'spirit' is (), meaning 'breath'. 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.
thumb|Depiction of the Holy Spirit as a Dove, from the [[Chair of Saint Peter|Throne of Saint Peter, Saint Peter's Basilica]]
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.
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 , 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: