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
The people of the city were divided. Some sided with the Jews, and others with the apostles.
“The multitude of the city was divided - The Jews treated the apostles as false teachers, and their miracles as impositions; and many of the people held with them: while the others, who had not hardened their hearts against the truth, felt the force of…”
they found out about it and fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding region,
“They were ware of it - They were informed of the scheme, and of the attempt that was about to be made, and fled unto Lystra and Derbe; they did not leave the province of Lycaonia, but went to other towns and cities.”
where they continued to preach the gospel.
“And there they preached the Gospel - Wherever they went, they were always employed in their Master’s work. Some MSS. of considerable note add here, and all the people were moved at their preaching, but Paul and Barnabas tarried at Lystra.”
In Lystra there sat a man crippled in his feet, who was lame from birth and had never walked.
“Impotent in his feet - Αδυνατος τοις ποσιν, He had no muscular power, and probably his ancle bones were dislocated; or he had what is commonly termed club feet; this is the more likely, as he is said to have been lame from his mother’s…”
In a loud voice Paul called out, “Stand up on your feet!” And the man jumped up and began to walk.
“Said with a loud voice - After this clause the following is found in CD, and several others, either in the text or margin: σοι λεγω εν τῳ ονοματι του Κυριου Ιησου ΧριϚου, I say unto thee, In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ…”
Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes, because he was the chief speaker.
“They called Barnabas, Jupiter; and Paul, Mercurius - The heathens supposed that Jupiter and Mercury were the gods who most frequently assumed the human form; and Jupiter was accustomed to take Mercury with him on such expeditions.”
In past generations, He let all nations go their own way.
“Who in times past suffered all nations, etc. - The words παντα τα εθνη, which we here translate, all nations, should be rendered, all the Gentiles, merely to distinguish them from the Jewish people: who having a revelation, were not left to walk in their…”
But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city. And the next day he left with Barnabas for Derbe.
“The disciples stood round about him - No doubt in earnest prayer, entreating the Author of life that his soul might again return to its battered tenement.”
From Attalia they sailed to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work they had just completed.
“And thence sailed to Antioch - This was Antioch in Syria; and to reach which, by sea, they were obliged to coast a part of the Mediterranean Sea, steering between Cyprus and Cilicia; though they might have gone the whole journey by land.”
And they spent a long time there with the disciples.
“And there they abode long time - How long the apostles tarried here we cannot tell; but we hear no more of them till the council of Jerusalem, mentioned in the following chapter, which is generally supposed to have been held in the year 51…”
And after engaging these men in sharp debate, Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about…
“No small dissension and disputation - Paul and Barnabas were fully satisfied that God did not design to bring the converted Gentiles under the yoke of circumcision: they knew that Jesus Christ was the end of the law for righteousness (justification) to every one that…”
On their arrival in Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and apostles and elders, to whom they reported all that God had done through them.
“They were received of the Church - The whole body of Christian believers. The apostles - Either the whole or part of the twelve; though we read of none but John, Peter, and James. See Gal 2:9.”
So the apostles and elders met to look into this matter.
“The apostles and elders came together - This was the first council ever held in the Christian Church; and we find that it was composed of the apostles and elders simply.”
And God, who knows the heart, showed His approval by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as He did to us.
“And God which knoweth the hearts - Ο καρδιογνωϚης Θεος. We had this epithet of the Divine Being once before; see Act 1:24, and the note there: it occurs no where else in the New Testament.”
Now then, why do you test God by placing on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear?
“Now therefore why tempt ye God - A God, by giving the Holy Spirit to the Gentiles, evidently shows he does not design them to be circumcised, in order to become debtors to the law, to fulfill all its precepts, etc., why will ye provoke…”
The whole assembly fell silent as they listened to Barnabas and Paul describing the signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them.
“All the multitude kept silence - The strong facts stated by St. Peter could not be controverted. His speech may be thus analyzed: 1. Circumcision is a sign of the purification of the heart. 2. That purification can only be effected by the Holy Ghost.”
‘After this I will return and rebuild the fallen tent of David. Its ruins I will rebuild, and I will restore it,
“After this I will return, and will build again, etc. - These two verses, 16th and 17th, are quoted from Amo 9:11, Amo 9:12, nearly as they now stand in the best editions of the Septuagint, and evidently taken from that version, which differs considerably…”
that have been known for ages.’
“Known unto God are all his works from the beginning - As if he had said, This is not a new counsel of God: he had purposed, from the time he called the Israelites, to make the Gentiles partakers of the same grace and mercy…”
Instead, we should write and tell them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals, and from blood.
“But that we write unto them - Four things are prohibited in this decree: 1. Pollutions of idols; 2. fornication; 3. things strangled; 4. blood.”
Then the apostles and elders, with the whole church, decided to select men from among them to send to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas.
“Then pleased it the apostles and elders, with the whole Church - James determined what ought to be done; and the whole assembly resolved how that should be done.”
It has come to our attention that some went out from us without our authorization and unsettled you, troubling your minds by what they said.
“Certain which went out from us - So the persons who produced these doubtful disputations at Antioch, etc., had gone out from the apostles at Jerusalem, and were of that Church: persons zealous for the law, and yet, strange to tell, so conscientiously attached to…”
Therefore we are sending Judas and Silas to tell you in person the same things we are writing.
“Judas and Silas - shall - tell you the same things - These were proofs that the testimony of Paul and Barnabas was true; and that the letter was not forged, as they could witness the same things which the letter contained.”
It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond these essential requirements:
“For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us - The whole council had met under his direction; had consulted under his influence; and gave forth their decree from his especial inspiration.”
Judas and Silas, who themselves were prophets, said much to encourage and strengthen the brothers.
“Judas and Silas, being prophets - That is, being teachers in the Church. This signification of the word prophet we have often already seen. See the notes on Act 11:27; Act 13:1.”
“Notwithstanding it pleased Silas, etc. - This whole verse is wanting in ABEG, a great number besides, with the Syriac, Arabic, Coptic, Slavonic, Vulgate, and some of the fathers. It does not appear to have been originally in the text.”