ABSTRACT
William Barclay2 helps us to understand the historical background of the term:
"Agai n and again we find that Parakalein is the word of the rallying call; it is the word used in the speeches of leaders and of soldiers who urge each other on. It is . . . used of words which send fearful and t imorous and hesitant soldiers and sailors courageously into battle. A Parakletos is therefore an Encourager, one who puts cour age into the fainthearted, one who nerves the feeble arm for fight, one who makes a very ordinary man cope gallantly with a perilous and a dangerous situation . . ."
