[B-Greek] question about parakleitos
yancywsmith
yancywsmith at sbcglobal.net
Tue Jun 6 13:03:19 EDT 2006
George,
I agree that the precise connotation of PARAKLHTOS in each
occurrence in John 14-17 remains up for grabs. Also, an author or
speaker, with an over all consolatory purpose, can certainly use a
word like PARAKLHTOS in ways which are outside that particular
semantic domain. Say, for example, there is no reason why John could
not, in a consolatory context, use the word PARAKLHTOS with a
forensic meaning like, "attorney." Such a figure of amplification is
common in Greco-Roman rhetoric. But I am puzzled by why you say that
one has to circumnavigate the barn to reach the conclusion that
"consoler" would be appropriate for PARAKLHTOS in this particular
instance (14:25). So, are you saying teaching about and reminding
someone of the words of a dearly departed have no role in
consolation? Rather these are precisely the types of actions
associated with consolation.
Here I make an adapted and somewhat expanded quote of Holloway.
Consolation was widely practiced in the ancient world and could in
principle be offered for any misfortune. It had as its object the
alleviation of grief (LUPH, aegritudo), which ideally would be
replaced with the opposite disposition of joy (CARA, gaudium). To
reach these ends, consolers employed a range of therapeutic methods,
though by far the most common approach was rational persuasion
coupled with exhortation. Common misfortunes received stock treatment
in the rhetorical handbooks. At Tusc. 3,34,81, Cicero mentions
handbook discussions of poverty, exile, life without honors, the
destruction of one’s country, slavery, illness and blindness. Dio
Chrysostom gives a similar list at Or. 16,3 (PERI LUPHS). The most
frequently addressed misfortune was, of course, death (i.e.,
bereavement), which is the occasion of Jesus’ farewell discourses in
John. Those seeking to provide or find comfort in the face of death
had a number of popular arguments on which to draw, including: (1)
time heals all things, (2) death is common to all, (3) grief does not
avail the dead and is detrimental to the living, and (4) the proper
response to death is gratitude for the life lived. More ambitious
consolers argued that death, at least under certain circumstances,
comes as a benefit: Cogita quantum boni opportuna mors habeat
(Seneca, Consol. ad Marcium 20.4). This last argument is central to
Socrates’ consolation of his friends at Plato, Apol. 40a–41c. It also
informs Jesus’ consolation of his disciples in John 16,7–15: SUMFEREI
hUMIN hINA EGW APELQW. A solace frequently employed in consolations
of death, and of particular relevance to Jesus’ promise of “another
Paraclete” (ALLOS PARAKLHTOS) in John 14,16, was the selection of a
substitute or surrogate to take the place of an absent loved one. In
14:25, ethical and theological instruction "teaching" and "reminding"
the bereaved followers of Jesus after he has gone is the type of
exhortation that was very common in consolation. Further, the mixing
of consolation and exhortation in John 13,31–16,33, where we find not
only consolation forming the basis for exhortation, but various
exhortations holding out the promise of further consolation, is
characteristic of the consolatory genre.
The bearing that all this has on b-greek, of course, is the need to
appreciate the importance of factors of context when it comes to
lexical decisions, and context involves the relevant cognitive
environment which writer/speaker and reader/hearer can reasonably be
though to have assumed for one another. In this case, the set of
expectations connected with a specific Greco-Roman genre help us
recover a relevant meaning for PARAKLHTOS. Additional detailed
arguments may be found in George L. Parsenios in Departure and
Consolation The Johannine Farewell Discourses in Light of Greco-Roman
Literature Biblical Interpretation Series - BIS 117 published by Brill.
Yancy Smith
Y.W.Smith at tcu.edu
yancywsmith at sbcglobal.net
Brite Divinity School
Texas Christian University
On Jun 6, 2006, at 9:52 AM, George F Somsel wrote:
> At Jn 14.25 where what the function of the PARAKLHTOS will be is
> stated, it speaks of teaching and reminding
>
> hO DE PARAKLHTOS, TO PNEUMA TO hAGION, hO PEMYEI hO PATHR EN TWi
> ONOMATI MOU, EKEINOS ** DIDACEI ** PANTA KAI ** hUPOMNHSEI ** hUMAS
> PANTA hA EIPON hUMIN [EGW]
>
> It seems necessary to circumnavigate the barn in order to reach a
> conclusion that this has anything to do with consoling.
>
> ________________
>
> yancywsmith <yancywsmith at sbcglobal.net> wrote:
> The way I am using term the term "consoler" puts it very close to our
> term "grief counsellor" indeed. I am only suggesting "consoler" to
> make the relation to ancient consolation more explicit. Chrysostom,
> who was schooled in rhetoric by Libanius, was familiar with the
> consolatory genre and argued in his commentaries that Philippians,
> Hebrews, and John 14-17 represented examples of the consolatory genre.
>
> Yancy Smith
> Y.W.Smith at tcu.edu
> yancywsmith at sbcglobal.net
> Brite Divinity School
> Texas Christian University
>
>
>
>
> On Jun 6, 2006, at 8:45 AM, George F Somsel wrote:
>
> > It's my understanding of PARAKLHTOS that it has more to do with
> > being a counsellor than a consoler.
> > ____________
> >
> > yancywsmith wrote:
> > In the context of John 13-17 one sense that should be considered
> is a
> > bit more specific. In a recent article, Paul Holloway, "Left Behind:
> > Jesus' Consolation of His Disciples in John 13, 31-17, 26" ZNW 96
> > (2005): 1-34, argues persuasively for a connections between this
> > section of John and Greco-Roman consolatory literature. What makes
> > this relevant to Greek lexicography, and thus this list, is that
> > recognizing Jesus' going away speech as consolation makes sense of
> > the Holy Spirit being "another PARAKLHTOS," since this section of
> > John shows Jesus to be, in terms of Hellenistic consolation
> rhetoric,
> > a very effective PARAKLHTOS (Consoler), the appropriateness of the
> > term is confirmed. John, however, plays with various senses of the
> > term. It might be helpful to recognize that a consoler is much more
> > than someone that says, "there, there." Ancient consolation could
> > include rebuke, encouragement, moral instruction and command to
> > uproot grief entirely or assuage it effectively.
> >
> > Yancy Smith
> > Y.W.Smith at tcu.edu
> > yancywsmith at sbcglobal.net
> > Brite Divinity School
> > Texas Christian University
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > On Jun 5, 2006, at 2:57 PM, George F Somsel wrote:
> >
> > > The word PARAKLHTOS appears 5 times in NA27.
> > >
> > > Jn 14.16, 26; 15.26; 16.7; 1 Jn 2.1
> > >
> > > BDAG should be consulted here. Since the entry is relatively
> > > lengthy, I will leave it to the reader to look up the article.
> > >
> > > LSJ gives this
> > > PARAKLHTOS, ON, called to one’s aid, in a court of justice: as
> > > Subst., legal assistant, advocate, D.19.1,
> > > Lycurg.Fr.102, etc.
> > > 2. summoned, äïῦëïé D.C.46.20, cf.
> > > BGU601.12 (ii a.d.).
> > > II. intercessor, Ph.2.520: hence in NT,
> > > PARAKLHTOS, of the Holy Spirit, Ev.Jo.14.16, cf.
> > > 1Ep.Jo.2.1.
> > >
> > > Liddell, H. G., Scott, R., Jones, H. S., & McKenzie, R. (1996). A
> > > Greek-English lexicon. "With a revised supplement, 1996." (Rev.
> and
> > > augm. throughout) (1313). Oxford; New York: Clarendon Press;
> Oxford
> > > University Press.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > Tunç SABUNCU wrote:
> > > Hi,
> > > I found this word (parakleitos) in several texts and i would like
> > > to know all of its senses.
> > > In general is is translated as "advocate" or "demander of charity"
> > > but it does not fit.
> > > Thank you for help
> > > ---
> > > B-Greek home page: http://metalab.unc.edu/bgreek
> > > B-Greek mailing list
> > > B-Greek at lists.ibiblio.org
> > > http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-greek
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > george
> > > gfsomsel
> > > _________
> > >
> > > ---------------------------------
> > > Talk is cheap. Use Yahoo! Messenger to make PC-to-Phone calls.
> > > Great rates starting at 1¢/min.
> > > ---
> > > B-Greek home page: http://metalab.unc.edu/bgreek
> > > B-Greek mailing list
> > > B-Greek at lists.ibiblio.org
> > > http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-greek
> >
> > ---
> > B-Greek home page: http://metalab.unc.edu/bgreek
> > B-Greek mailing list
> > B-Greek at lists.ibiblio.org
> > http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-greek
> >
> >
> >
> > george
> > gfsomsel
> > _________
> > __________________________________________________
> > Do You Yahoo!?
> > Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
> > http://mail.yahoo.com
>
> ---
> B-Greek home page: http://metalab.unc.edu/bgreek
> B-Greek mailing list
> B-Greek at lists.ibiblio.org
> http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-greek
>
>
>
> george
> gfsomsel
> _________
> __________________________________________________
> Do You Yahoo!?
> Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
> http://mail.yahoo.com
More information about the B-Greek
mailing list