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
I told them that it is not the Roman custom to hand a man over before he has had an opportunity to face his accusers and defend himself against their…
“It is not the manner of the Romans to deliver any man to die - Χαριζεσθαι τινα ανθρωπον, To Make a Present of any man; gratuitously to give up the life of any man, through favor or caprice.”
But when his accusers rose to speak, they did not charge him with any of the crimes I had expected.
“They brought none accusation of such things as I supposed - It was natural for Festus, at the first view of things, to suppose that Paul must be guilty of some very atrocious crime.”
Since I was at a loss as to how to investigate these matters, I asked if he was willing to go to Jerusalem and be tried there on these charges.
“I doubted of such manner of questions - Such as, whether he had broken their law, defiled their temple; or whether this Jesus, who was dead, was again raised to life.”
Then Agrippa said to Festus, “I would like to hear this man myself.” “Tomorrow you will hear him,” Festus declared.
“I would also hear the man myself - A spirit of curiosity, similar to that of Herod, Luk 23:”
I have nothing definite to write to our sovereign one about him. Therefore I have brought him before all of you, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that after…
“I have no certain thing to write - Nothing alleged against him has been substantiated. Unto my Lord - The title Κυριος, Dominus, Lord, both Augustus and Tiberius had absolutely refused; and forbade, even by public edicts, the application of it to themselves.”
“King Agrippa, I consider myself fortunate to stand before you today to defend myself against all the accusations of the Jews,
“I think myself happy - As if he had said, This is a peculiarly fortunate circumstance in my favor, that I am called to make my defense before a judge so intelligent, and so well acquainted with the laws and customs of our country.”
Surely all the Jews know how I have lived from the earliest days of my youth, among my own people and in Jerusalem.
“My manner of life, etc. - The apostle means to state that, though born in Tarsus, he had a regular Jewish education, having been sent up to Jerusalem for that purpose; but at what age does not appear; probably about twelve, for at this age…”
And now I stand on trial because of my hope in the promise that God made to our fathers,
“For the hope of the promise - This does not appear to mean, the hope of the Messiah, as some have imagined, but the hope of the resurrection of the dead, to which the apostle referred in Act 23:6 (note), where he says to the…”
Why would any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead?
“That God should raise the dead? - As Agrippa believed in the true God, and knew that one of his attributes was omnipotence, he could not believe that the resurrection of the dead was an impossible thing; and to this belief of his the apostle…”
And that is what I did in Jerusalem. With authority from the chief priests I put many of the saints in prison, and when they were condemned to death, I…
“Many of the saints - From what is said in this verse, it seems that Paul, before his conversion, was invested with much power: he imprisoned the Christians; punished many in various synagogues; compelled them to blaspheme - to renounce, and, perhaps, to execrate Christ…”
‘But get up and stand on your feet. For I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen from…
“But rise, etc. - The particulars mentioned here, and in the two following verses, are not given in Act 9:1-9, nor in Act 22:6-11, where he gives an account of his conversion.”
to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an…
“To open their eyes - To be the instrument of informing their understanding in the things of God. To turn them from darkness to light - From heathenism and superstition to the knowledge and worship of the true God.”
First to those in Damascus and Jerusalem, then to everyone in the region of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, I declared that they should repent and turn to God…
“But showed first unto them of Damascus - He appears to have preached at Damascus, and in the neighboring parts of Arabia Deserta, for about three years; and afterwards he went up to Jerusalem.”
For this reason the Jews seized me in the temple courts and tried to kill me.
“For these causes the Jews - went about to kill me - These causes may be reduced to four heads: - 1. He had maintained the resurrection of the dead. 2. The resurrection of Christ, whom they had crucified and slain. 3.”
At this stage of Paul’s defense, Festus exclaimed in a loud voice, “You are insane, Paul! Your great learning is driving you to madness!”
“Paul, thou art beside thyself - “Thou art mad, Paul!” “Thy great learning hath turned thee into a madman.” As we sometimes say, thou art cracked, and thy brain is turned.”
Then Agrippa said to Paul, “Can you persuade me in such a short time to become a Christian?”
“Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian - Εν ολιγῳ με πειθεις ΧριϚιανον γενεσθαι. This declaration was almost the necessary consequence of the apostle’s reasoning, and Agrippa’s faith.”
And Agrippa said to Festus, “This man could have been released if he had not appealed to Caesar.”
“Then said Agrippa, etc. - The king himself, who had participated in the strongest emotions on the occasion, feels himself prompted to wish the apostle’s immediate liberation; but this was now rendered impracticable, because he had appealed to Caesar; the appeal was no doubt registered…”
We boarded an Adramyttian ship about to sail for ports along the coast of Asia, and we put out to sea. Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica, was with us.
“A ship of Adramyttium - There were several places of this name; and in different MSS. the name is variously written. The port in question appears to have been a place in Mysia, in Asia Minor.”
There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship sailing for Italy and put us on board.
“A ship of Alexandria - It appears, from Act 27:38, that this ship was laden with wheat, which she was carrying from Alexandria to Rome. We know that the Romans imported much corn from Egypt, together with different articles of Persian and Indian merchandise.”
After we had moved along the coast with difficulty, we came to a place called Fair Havens, near the town of Lasea.
“The Fair Havens - This port still remains, and is known by the same name; it was situated towards the northern extremity of the island.”
“Men, I can see that our voyage will be filled with disaster and great loss, not only to ship and cargo, but to our own lives as well.”
“I perceive that this voyage will be with hurt, etc. - Paul might either have had this intimation from the Spirit of God, or from his own knowledge of the state of this sea after the autumnal equinox, and therefore gave them this prudent warning.”
Since the harbor was unsuitable to winter in, the majority decided to sail on, if somehow they could reach Phoenix to winter there.
“Might attain to Phoenice - It appears that the Fair Havens were at the eastern end of the island, and they wished to reach Phoenice, which lay farther towards the west. Toward the south-west and north-west - Κατα λιβα και κατα χωρον.”
But it was not long before a cyclone called the Northeaster swept down across the island.
“A tempestuous wind, called Euroclydon - Interpreters have been greatly perplexed with this word; and the ancient copyists not less so, as the word is variously written in the MSS. and versions. Dr.”
Passing to the lee of a small island called Cauda, we barely managed to secure the lifeboat.
“A certain island - called Clauda - Called also Gaudos; situated at the south-western extremity of the island of Crete, and now called Gozo, according to Dr. Shaw.”
When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and the great storm continued to batter us, we abandoned all hope of being saved.
“Neither sun nor stars in many days appeared - And consequently they could make no observation; and, having no magnetical needle, could not tell in what direction they were going.”