1. "one who pleads another's cause before a judge, a pleader, counsel for defense, legal assistant; an advocate": Demosthenes, p. 341, 11; (Diogenes Laërtius 4, 50, cf. Dio Cassius, 46, 20.

2. universally, one who pleads another's cause with one, an intercessor: Philo, de mund. opif. § 59; de Josepho § 40; in Flaccum §§ 3 and 4; so of Christ, in his exaltation at God's right hand, pleading with God the Father for the pardon of our sins, 1 John 2:1 (in the same sense, of the divine Logos in Philo, vita Moys. iii. § 14).

3. in the widest sense, a helper, succorer, aider, assistant; so of the Holy Spirit destined to take the place of Christ with the apostles (after his ascension to the Father), to lead them to a deeper knowledge of gospel truth, and to give them the divine strength needed to enable them to undergo trials and persecutions on behalf of the divine kingdom: John 14:16, 26; John 15:26; John 16:7, cf. Matthew 10:19; Mark 13:11; Luke 12:11f (Philo de mund. opif. § 6 at the beginning says that God in creating the world had no need of a παράκλητος, an adviser, counsellor, helper. The Targums and Talmud borrow the Greek words פְּרַקְלִיט and פְּרַקְלִיטָא and use them of any intercessor, defender, or advocate; cf. Baxtorf, Lex. Talm., p. 1843 ((edited by Fischer, p. 916)); so Targ. on Job 33:23 for מֵלִיץ מַלְאָך, i. e. an angel that pleads man's cause with God; (cf. πλουσίων παρακλητοι in 'Teaching' etc. 5 [ET] under the end; the Epistle of Barnabas 20, 2 [ET]; Apostolic Constitutions 7, 18)). Cf. Knapp, Scripta varii Argumenti, p. 124ff; Düsterdieck on 1 John 2:1, p. 147ff; (Watkins, Excursus G, in Ellicott's N. T. Commentary for English Readers; Westcott in the Speaker's commentary Additional Note on John 14:16; Schaff in Lange ibid.).