But despite these rather specialised examples, ‘advocate’ is clearly not a satisfactory translation for ‘parakletos’ when referring to the Holy Spirit. The oldest translation, dating back to Wiclif, and retained in the AV, is ‘Comforter’ – which originally had the sense of ‘strengthener’ rather than ‘encourager’. This is a tempting option, partly because it well describes one of the most heart-warming of the Spirit’s ministries, and partly because the verb ‘parakalo’, from which, as we have seen, ‘parakletos’ is derived, commonly means to ‘comfort’, together with its abstract noun, ‘paraklesis’. These two words appear 10 times between them in 2 Corinthians 1. 3-7, each time translated ‘comfort’ in NIV (though one usage is, quite reasonably, left untranslated), while AV alternates between ‘comfort’ and ‘console’. But this temptation should be resisted, mainly because, as we have also seen, ‘parakletos’ is passive in meaning, not active. This is well exemplified in Job 16. 2: “Miserable comforters are ye all” (AV); in the LXX the Greek word for ‘comforters’ here is the plural form of ‘parakletor’, and, as in English (via Latin), the Greek suffix ‘-or’ denotes the person who performs the action of the verb. The NIV moves from ‘Comforter’ to Counsellor’. This has at least two advantages: it retains a suggestion of the law-courts (especially in American ears), and it echoes one of the titles given prophetically to the Messiah in Isaiah 9.6, “wonderful Counsellor”. Both these translations are appropriate to some areas of the spirit’s ministry, but not to others.
Thursday, 29 December 2011
PARAKLETOS 2 (d) 'Comforter' or 'Counsellor'?
But despite these rather specialised examples, ‘advocate’ is clearly not a satisfactory translation for ‘parakletos’ when referring to the Holy Spirit. The oldest translation, dating back to Wiclif, and retained in the AV, is ‘Comforter’ – which originally had the sense of ‘strengthener’ rather than ‘encourager’. This is a tempting option, partly because it well describes one of the most heart-warming of the Spirit’s ministries, and partly because the verb ‘parakalo’, from which, as we have seen, ‘parakletos’ is derived, commonly means to ‘comfort’, together with its abstract noun, ‘paraklesis’. These two words appear 10 times between them in 2 Corinthians 1. 3-7, each time translated ‘comfort’ in NIV (though one usage is, quite reasonably, left untranslated), while AV alternates between ‘comfort’ and ‘console’. But this temptation should be resisted, mainly because, as we have also seen, ‘parakletos’ is passive in meaning, not active. This is well exemplified in Job 16. 2: “Miserable comforters are ye all” (AV); in the LXX the Greek word for ‘comforters’ here is the plural form of ‘parakletor’, and, as in English (via Latin), the Greek suffix ‘-or’ denotes the person who performs the action of the verb. The NIV moves from ‘Comforter’ to Counsellor’. This has at least two advantages: it retains a suggestion of the law-courts (especially in American ears), and it echoes one of the titles given prophetically to the Messiah in Isaiah 9.6, “wonderful Counsellor”. Both these translations are appropriate to some areas of the spirit’s ministry, but not to others.
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