Voices and influences
Adam Clarke
The self-taught Irish Methodist orientalist who rode preaching circuits for fifty years and spent forty of them writing a commentary on the whole Bible.
Summary
This site quotes Adam Clarke 9,015 times across 66 books, and lists 0 works.
- Lived 1762 to 1832.
- Quoted here most in Genesis: 673 of 9,015.
Adam Clarke
- Lived
- 1762 to 1832
- Tradition
- Methodist
5 of 9,015 quotations
Own words
Quoted in full, because Adam Clarke died in 1832 and these works are out of copyright. Each citation below names its edition and its year. A citation naming a modernised text means that edition makes its own editorial changes, and that edition's terms are not in this site's record.
The earth was without form and void - The original term תהו tohu and בהו bohu, which we translate without form and void, are of uncertain etymology; but in this place, and wherever else they are used, they convey the idea of confusion and disorder.
The rest of the quotation
From these terms it is probable that the ancient Syrians and Egyptians borrowed their gods, Theuth and Bau, and the Greeks their Chaos.
Genesis 1:2 Now the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. BSB
Even a fool - He is counted wise as to that particular. He may know that he cannot speak well, and he has sense enough to keep from speaking. He is, as to that particular, a wise fool.
The rest of the quotation
A man may be golden-mouthed and silver-tongued in eloquence; but to know when and where to speak and to be silent, is better than diamonds. But who that thinks he can speak well can refrain from speaking? His tongue has no rest.
Proverbs 17:28 Even a fool is considered wise if he keeps silent, and discerning when he holds his tongue. BSB
Thoughts of peace - Here God gives them to understand, 1. That his love was moved towards them. 2. That he would perform his good word, his promises often repeated, to them. 3. That for the fulfillment of these they must pray, seek, and search.
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4. That he would hearken, and they should find him; provided, 5. They sought him with their whole heart, Jer 29:10-13.
Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you a future and a hope. BSB
Let your light so shine - Or more literally, Thus let your light shine, Ουτω λαμψατω το φως.
The rest of the quotation
As the sun is lighted up in the firmament of heaven to diffuse its light and heat freely to every inhabitant of the earth; and as the lamp is not set under the bushel, but placed upon the lamp-stand that it may give light to all in the house; Thus let every follower of Christ, and especially every preacher of the Gospel, diffuse the light of heavenly knowledge, and the warmth of Divine love through the whole circle of their acquaintance.
Matthew 5:16 In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. BSB
A bruised reed shall he not break - A reed is, in Scripture, the emblem of weakness, Eze 29:6; and a bruised reed must signify that state of weakness that borders on dissolution and death. And smoking flax shall he not quench - Λινον τυφομενον.
The rest of the quotation
Λινος means the wick of a lamp, and τυφομενον is intended to point out its expiring state, when the oil has been all burnt away from it, and nothing is left but a mere snuff, emitting smoke.
Matthew 12:20 A bruised reed He will not break, and a smoldering wick He will not extinguish, till He leads justice to victory. BSB
Influence, on the record
This site quotes Adam Clarke 9,015 times across 66 books.
This site’s own count of what it does with the voice
The life, in order
The life told as one accountfrom this site's record
Adam Clarke was born at Moybeg, in County Londonderry, Ireland, about 1760 — his father said 1762, and the exact year has never been settled. His father was a schoolmaster; the family was poor. As a boy Clarke was thought slow. He learned to read late, and then read everything he could reach. He was converted among the Methodists in 1778, and in 1782 John Wesley himself sent him to the Bradford circuit in England. He was about twenty-two, with almost no formal schooling and a horse. He spent the rest of his life as a travelling preacher, moving circuits every few years as Methodist rules required — Bradford, Norwich, the Channel Islands, Dublin, Manchester, Liverpool, London. He was elected president of the British Methodist Conference three times, in 1806, 1814, and 1822, an honor almost never repeated in that era. And all along he studied. Clarke taught himself Hebrew, Syriac, Chaldee, Arabic, Persian, Samaritan, Coptic, and more, and became one of the finest oriental scholars in Britain without ever holding a university chair. The government hired him: for years he worked for the Records Commission on Rymer's Foedera, the great collection of English state papers, and he catalogued manuscripts for private libraries. He was elected to the Royal Irish Academy and the Society of Antiquaries. The work he is known for took forty years. The Holy Bible... with a Commentary and Critical Notes was published in eight volumes between 1810 and 1826. It is enormous, digressive, and packed with material nobody else was supplying to English readers — Hebrew and Arabic parallels, ancient customs, natural history, textual notes, and long excursions on whatever caught his eye. It became the standard theological resource of Methodism for the better part of two centuries, and it is still consulted. He was open about where he broke ranks. Clarke denied the eternal sonship of Christ: he held the Son to be fully and eternally divine, but taught that the title "Son" describes the incarnation rather than an eternal relation. Methodists argued with him about it in his lifetime and long after, and Methodist doctrine did not follow him there. He also read the tempter of Genesis 3 as a creature more like an ape than a serpent — a reading nearly everyone else rejected. The commentary carries these views plainly, and readers have always had to weigh them. He gave himself away in other directions too. He worked for the early Bible society movement, championed the Sunday school, organized mission work in the Shetland Isles, and gave away most of what he earned. He died of cholera in London on August 26, 1832, during the epidemic that swept Britain that year, still working. Sources: Adam Clarke, The Holy Bible... with a Commentary and Critical Notes; J. B. B. Clarke, ed., An Account of the Infancy, Religious and Literary Life of Adam Clarke, LL.D.; Luke Tyerman, The Life and Times of the Rev. John Wesley; the Dictionary of National Biography (1887), "Clarke, Adam."
9,015 quotations across 66 books
Where this voice is quoted
Let the heavens be glad, and the earth rejoice. Let them say among the nations, ‘The LORD reigns!’
“Let the heavens be glad - “Let the supreme angels be glad, and the inhabitants of the earth rejoice.” - T. In this place the Targumist uses the Greek word αγγελοι, angels, in Hebrew letters thus, אנגלי angeley.”
And David left Zadok the priest and his fellow priests before the tabernacle of the LORD at the high place in Gibeon
“Zadok the priest - Both Zadok and Abiathar were high priests at this time: the former David established at Gibeah, or Gibeon, where the ark had been all the days of Saul; and the latter he established at Jerusalem, where the ark now was: so…”
Heman and Jeduthun had with them trumpets and cymbals for the music and instruments for the songs of God. And the sons of Jeduthun were stationed at the gate.
“Musical instruments of God - Ad canendum Deo, “to sing to God.” - Vulgate. Των ωδων του Θεου, “of the sons of God.” - Septuagint.”
For I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought Israel up out of Egypt until this day, but I have moved from tent to tent and…
“But have gone from tent to tent - “I have transferred my tabernacle from Gilgal to Nob, from Nob to Shiloh, and from Shiloh to Gibeon.” - Targum and Jarchi.”
He will build a house for Me, and I will establish his throne forever.
“I will establish his throne for ever - David was a type of Christ; and concerning him the prophecy is literally true. See Isa 9:7, where there is evidently the same reference.”
Then King David went in, sat before the LORD, and said, “Who am I, O LORD God, and what is my house, that You have brought me this far?
“And what is mine house, that thou hast brought me hitherto? - I am not of any regal family, and have no natural right to the throne.”
For You, my God, have revealed to Your servant that You will build a house for him. Therefore Your servant has found the courage to pray before You.
“Hath found in his heart to pray - The Targum expresses a full sense: “Therefore thy servant hath found an opening of mouth, that he might pray before Thee.”
So now You have been pleased to bless the house of Your servant, that it may continue forever before You.
“For thou blessest, O Lord - “Thou beginnest to bless the house of thy servant, therefore it shall be blessed for ever.” - T.”
Moreover, Abishai son of Zeruiah struck down eighteen thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt.
“Abishai - slew of the Edomites - This victory is attributed to David, 2Sa 8:13. He sent Abishai against them, and he defeated them: this is with great propriety attributed to David as commander-in-chief; qui facit per alterum, facit per se.”
Joab son of Zeruiah was over the army; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was the recorder;
“Joab - was over the host - General-in-chief. Jehoshaphat - recorder - The king’s remembrancer, or historiographer royal.”
Zadok son of Ahitub and Ahimelech son of Abiathar were priests; Shavsha was the scribe;
“Zadok - and Abimelech - priests - Both high priests; one at Gibeon, and the other at Jerusalem, as we have seen 1Ch 16:39. Shavsha was scribe - Called Seraiah, 2Sa 8:17.”
Benaiah son of Jehoiada was over the Cherethites and Pelethites; and David’s sons were chief officials at the king’s side.
“Cherethites and the Pelethites - See the note on 2Sa 8:18. The Targum says, “Benaiah was over the great Sanhedrin and the small Sanhedrin, and consulted Urim and Thummim. And at his command the archers and slingers went to battle.””
So Hanun took David’s servants, shaved their beards, cut off their garments at the hips, and sent them away.
“And cut off their garments in the midst - Usque ad eorum, pudenda. So the Targum, Jarchi, and others; leaving exposed what nature and decency require to be concealed. See on 2Sa 10:4 (note).”
When the Ammonites realized that they had become a stench to David, Hanun and the Ammonites sent a thousand talents of silver to hire for themselves chariots and horsemen from…
“Chariots and horsemen out of Mesopotamia - These are not mentioned in the parallel place in Samuel; probably they did not arrive till the Ammonites and their other allies were defeated by the Israelites in the first battle.”
Then David took the crown from the head of their king. It was found to weigh a talent of gold and was set with precious stones, and it was placed…
“David took the crown of their king - off his head - See 2Sa 12:30. Precious stones in it - The Targum says, “And there was set in it a precious stone, worth a talent of gold; this was that magnetic stone that supported the…”
Once again there was a battle with the Philistines, and Elhanan son of Jair killed Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like a…
“Elhanan the son of Jair - See the note on 2Sa 21:19. The Targum says, “David, the son of Jesse, a pious man, who rose at midnight to sing praises to God, slew Lachmi, the brother of Goliath, the same day on which he slew…”
So these descendants of Rapha in Gath fell at the hands of David and his servants.
“These were born unto the giant in Gath - “These were born להרפא leharapha, to that Rapha in Gath, or to Arapha.” So the Vulgate, Septuagint, and Chaldee.”
But Joab did not include Levi and Benjamin in the count, because the king’s command was detestable to him.
“Levi and Benjamin counted he not - The rabbins give the following reason for this: Joab, seeing that this would bring down destruction upon the people, purposed to save two tribes. Should David ask, Why have you not numbered the Levites?”
David answered Gad, “I am deeply distressed. Please, let me fall into the hand of the LORD, for His mercies are very great; but do not let me fall into…
“David said - I am in a great strait - The Targum reasons thus: “And David said to Gad, If I choose famine, the Israelites may say, The granaries of David are full of corn; neither doth he care should the people of Israel die…”
Then God sent an angel to destroy Jerusalem, but as the angel was doing so, the LORD saw it and relented from the calamity, and He said to the angel…
“And God sent an angel - Thus the Targum: “And the Word of the Lord sent the angel of death against Jerusalem to destroy it; and he beheld the ashes of the binding of Isaac at the foot of the altar, and he remembered his…”
Now Ornan was threshing wheat when he turned and saw the angel; and his four sons who were with him hid themselves.
“Ornan turned back, and saw the angel - The Septuagint say, And Orna turned, και ειδε τον βασιλεα, and saw the King. The Syriac and Arabic say, David saw the angel; and do not mention Ornan in this place.”
but David could not go before it to inquire of God, because he was afraid of the sword of the angel of the LORD.
“Because of the sword of the angel - This is given as a reason why David built an altar in the threshing-floor of Ornan: he was afraid to go to Gibeon, because of the sword of the destroying angel, or he was afraid of delaying…”
So David gave orders to gather the foreigners in the land of Israel, from whom he appointed stonecutters to prepare finished stones for building the house of God.
“The strangers that were in the land - Those who had become proselytes to the Jewish religion, at least so far as to renounce idolatry, and keep what were called the seven Noahic precepts.”
Now behold, I have taken great pains to provide for the house of the LORD—100,000 talents of gold, 1,000,000 talents of silver, and bronze and iron too great to be…
“In my trouble I have prepared - Notwithstanding ail the wars in which I have been engaged, all the treacheries with which I have been surrounded, all the domestic troubles with which I have been overwhelmed, I never lost sight of this great object, the…”
“Is not the LORD your God with you, and has He not granted you rest on every side?
“Is not the Lord your God with you? - “Is not the Word of the Lord your God your assistant?” - T. Hath he not given you rest on every side?”