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
how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, because…
“God anointed Jesus of Nazareth - Here the apostle refers to Christ as the promised Messiah; for, as Messiah signifies the anointed one, and Christ has the same signification in Greek, and the Messiah, according to the prophets, and the expectation of the Jews, was…”
God raised Him up on the third day and caused Him to be seen—
“Him God raised up the third day - He lay long enough under the power of death to prove that he was dead; and not too long, lest it should be supposed that his disciples had time sufficient to have practiced some deceit or imposture…”
And He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that He is the One appointed by God to judge the living and the dead.
“And he commanded us to preach - By thus assuring them that Jesus Christ was appointed to judge the world, he at once showed them the necessity of subjection to him, that they might stand in the day of his appearing.”
While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all who heard his message.
“While Peter yet spake - It in not very likely that the words recorded by St. Luke are all that the apostle spoke on this occasion; but, while he continued to discourse with them on this subject, the Holy Ghost fell on all them that…”
For they heard them speaking in tongues and exalting God. Then Peter said,
“And magnify God - They had got new hearts as well as new tongues; and, having believed with the heart unto righteousness, their tongues made confession unto salvation; and God was magnified for the mercy which he had imparted.”
So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to stay for a few days.
“To be baptized in the name of the Lord - That is, in the name of Jesus Christ; which implied their taking upon them the public profession of Christianity, and believing on Christ Jesus as their Savior and Sovereign; for, as they were baptized in…”
So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers took issue with him
“Contended with him - A manifest proof this that the primitive Church at Jerusalem (and no Church can ever deserve this name but the Jerusalem Church) had no conception of St. Peter’s supremacy, or of his being prince of the apostles.”
and said, “You visited uncircumcised men and ate with them.”
“Thou wentest in to men uncircumcised - In a Jew, this was no small offense; and, as they did not know the reason of St.”
But Peter began and explained to them the whole sequence of events:
“But Peter rehearsed the matter from the beginning, and expounded it by order - Εξετιθετο αυτοις καθεξης. This is the very style of St. Luke; see his Gospel, Luk 1:3.”
The Spirit told me to accompany them without hesitation. These six brothers also went with me, and we entered the man’s home.
“These six brethren - Probably pointing to them, being present, as proper persons to confirm the truth of what he was delivering.”
He will convey to you a message by which you and all your household will be saved.’
“Thou and all thy house shall be saved - This is an additional circumstance: before, it was said, Act 10:6, Peter shall tell thee what thou oughtest to do; and, in Act 10:33, who, when he cometh, shall speak unto thee.”
Then I remembered the word of the Lord, as He used to say, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’
“Ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost - These words are very remarkable. The words of our Lord, as quoted Act 1:5, to which St.”
When they heard this, their objections were put to rest, and they glorified God, saying, “So then, God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life.”
“They held their peace - Their prejudices were confounded; they considered the subject, and saw that it was from God; then they glorified him, because they saw that he had granted unto the Gentiles repentance unto life.”
But some of them, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began speaking to the Greeks as well, proclaiming the good news about the Lord Jesus.
“Men of - Cyrene - The metropolis of the Cyrenaica; a country of Africa, bounded on the east by Marmarica, on the west by the Regio Syrtica, on the north by the Mediterranean, and on the south by the Sahara. Cyrene is now called Cairoan.”
When news of this reached the ears of the church in Jerusalem, they sent Barnabas to Antioch.
“The Church which was in Jerusalem - This was the original, the mother Church of Christianity; not the Church of Rome; there were Christian Churches founded in many places, which exist to the present day, before Rome heard the Gospel of the kingdom.”
Barnabas was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.
“For he was a good man - Here is a proper character of a minister of the Gospel. 1. He is a good man: his bad heart is changed; his evil dispositions rooted out; and the mind that was in Christ implanted in him. 2.”
and when he found him, he brought him back to Antioch. So for a full year they met together with the church and taught large numbers of people.
“He brought him unto Antioch - As this city was the metropolis of Syria, and the third city for importance in the whole Roman empire, Rome and Alexandria alone being more eminent, Barnabas might think it expedient to have for his assistance a person of…”
One of them named Agabus stood up and predicted through the Spirit that a great famine would sweep across the whole world. (This happened under Claudius.)
“Agabus - This prophet, of whom we know nothing, is once more mentioned, Act 21:10. He was probably a Jew, but whether converted now to Christianity we cannot tell.”
This they did, sending their gifts to the elders with Barnabas and Saul.
“And sent it to the elders - These probably mean those who first believed on Christ crucified, either of the seventy disciples mentioned Luke, Luk 10:1, or the one hundred and twenty mentioned, Act 1:15, or the seven deacons, Act 6:5.”
He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword.
“He killed James the brother of John with the sword - This was James the greater, son of Zebedee, and must be distinguished from James the less, son of Alpheus.”
He arrested him and put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each.
“Four quaternions of soldiers - That is, sixteen, or four companies of four men each, who had the care of the prison, each company taking in turn one of the four watches of the night.”
On the night before Herod was to bring him to trial, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, with sentries standing guard at the entrance to the…
“Sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains - Two soldiers guarded his person; his right hand being bound to the left hand of one, and his left hand bound to the right hand of the other.”
“Get dressed and put on your sandals,” said the angel. Peter did so, and the angel told him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.”
“Gird thyself - It seems Peter had put off the principal part of his clothes, that he might sleep with more comfort. His resuming all that he had thrown off was a proof that every thing had been done leisurely.”
They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city, which opened for them by itself.
“The first and - second ward - It is supposed that ancient Jerusalem was surrounded by three walls: if so, then passing through the gates of these three walls successively is possibly what is meant by the expression in the text.”
And when he had realized this, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered together and were praying.
“And when he had considered - When he had weighed every thing, and was fully satisfied of the Divine interposition, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John Mark, the author of the Gospel, where it appears many were gathered together making…”