John 14:18

18 non relinquam vos orfanos veniam ad vos

John 14:18 Meaning and Commentary

John 14:18

I will not leave you comfortless
Gr. "orphans", or "fatherless". Christ stands in the relation of a Father to his people, and they are his children, his spiritual seed and offspring; and so the disciples might fear, that as Christ was going from them, they should be left as children without a father, in a very desolate and comfortless, condition: to support them against these fears, Christ promises that he would not leave them thus, at least not long:

I will come to you;
in a very short time, as he did; for on the third day he rose again from the dead, and appeared to them, which filled them with great joy. So among the Jews, disciples, and the world too, are represented as fatherless, when their doctors and wise men are removed by death. Says R. Aba, F24 and so sometimes others, concerning R. Simeon ben Jochai,

``woe to the world when thou shall go out of it, woe to the generation that shall be in the world when thou shall remove from them, (Nymty Nwratvyw) , "and they shall be left fatherless by thee".''

And in another place F25;

``afterwards R. Akiba went out and cried, and his eyes flowed with water, and he said, woe Rabbi, woe Rabbi, for the world is left, (Mwty) , "fatherless by thee".''


FOOTNOTES:

F24 Zohar in Num fol. 96. 3. & in Lev. fol. 42. 3. & in Exod. fol. 10. 3. & 28. 3.
F25 Midrash Hannealam in Zohar in Gen. fol. 65. 4.

John 14:18 In-Context

16 et ego rogabo Patrem et alium paracletum dabit vobis ut maneat vobiscum in aeternum
17 Spiritum veritatis quem mundus non potest accipere quia non videt eum nec scit eum vos autem cognoscitis eum quia apud vos manebit et in vobis erit
18 non relinquam vos orfanos veniam ad vos
19 adhuc modicum et mundus me iam non videt vos autem videtis me quia ego vivo et vos vivetis
20 in illo die vos cognoscetis quia ego sum in Patre meo et vos in me et ego in vobis
The Latin Vulgate is in the public domain.