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
For I have chosen him, so that he will command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and…
“And they shall keep the way of the Lord - The true religion; God’s way; that in which God walks himself, and in which, of course, his followers walk also; to do justice and judgment; not only to preserve the truth in their creed, but…”
I will go down to see if their actions fully justify the outcry that has reached Me. If not, I will find out.”
“I will go down now, etc. - A lesson to magistrates, teaching them not to judge according to report, but accurately to inquire into the facts themselves - Jarchi.”
And the two men turned away and went toward Sodom, but Abraham remained standing before the LORD.
“And the men turned their faces - That is, the two angels who accompanied Jehovah were now sent towards Sodom; while the third, who is called the Lord or Jehovah, remained with Abraham for the purpose of teaching him the great usefulness and importance of…”
Abraham stepped forward and said, “Will You really sweep away the righteous with the wicked?
“Wilt thou also destroy the righteous with the wicked? - A form of speech similar to that in Gen 18:17, an invariable principle of justice, that the righteous shall not be punished for the crimes of the impious.”
Far be it from You to do such a thing—to kill the righteous with the wicked, so that the righteous and the wicked are treated alike.
“Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? - God alone is the Judge of all men. Abraham, in thus addressing himself to the person in the text, considers him either as the Supreme Being or his representative.”
Then Abraham answered, “Now that I have ventured to speak to the Lord—though I am but dust and ashes—
“Which am but dust and ashes - עפר ואפר aphar vaepher, words very similar in sound, as they refer to matters which so much resemble each other. Dust - the lightest particles of earth. Ashes - the residuum of consumed substances.”
Finally, Abraham said, “May the Lord not be angry, but let me speak once more. Suppose ten are found there?”
“Peradventure ten shall be found there - Knowing that in the family of his nephew the true religion was professed and practiced, he could not suppose there could be less than ten righteous persons in the city, he did not think it necessary to urge…”
and said, “My lords, please turn aside into the house of your servant; wash your feet and spend the night. Then you can rise early and go on your way.”
“Nay; but we will abide in the street - Instead of לא lo, nay, some MSS. have לו lo, to him; “And they said unto him, for we lodge in the street.” where, nevertheless, the negation is understood.”
Look, I have two daughters who have never slept with a man. Let me bring them to you, and you can do to them as you please.
“Behold now, I have two daughters - Nothing but that sacred light in which the rights of hospitality were regarded among the eastern nations, could either justify or palliate this proposal of Lot.”
“Get out of the way!” they replied. And they declared, “This one came here as a foreigner, and he is already acting like a judge!
“And he will needs be a judge - So his sitting in the gate is perhaps a farther proof of his being there in a magisterial capacity, as some have supposed.”
And they struck the men at the entrance, young and old, with blindness, so that they wearied themselves trying to find the door.
“And they smote the men - with blindness - This has been understood two ways: 1. The angels, by the power which God had given them, deprived these wicked men of a proper and regular use of their sight, so as either totally to deprive…”
Then the two men said to Lot, “Do you have anyone else here—a son-in-law, your sons or daughters, or anyone else in the city who belongs to you?
“Hast thou here any besides? son-in-law - Here there appears to be but one meant, as the word חתן chathan is in the singular number; but in Gen 19:14 the word is plural, חתיו chathanaiv, his sons-in-law.”
But when Lot hesitated, the men grabbed his hand and the hands of his wife and his two daughters.
“While he lingered - Probably in affectionate though useless entreaties to prevail on the remaining parts of his family to escape from the destruction that was now descending; laid hold upon his hand - pulled them away by mere force, the Lord being merciful; else…”
As soon as the men had brought them out, one of them said, “Run for your lives! Do not look back, and do not stop anywhere on the plain!
“When they had brought them forth, etc. - Every word here is emphatic, Escape for thy Life; thou art in the most imminent danger of perishing; thy life and thy soul are both at stake.”
Your servant has indeed found favor in your sight, and you have shown me great kindness by sparing my life.
“I cannot escape to the mountain - He saw the destruction so near, that he imagined he should not have time sufficient to reach the mountain before it arrived.”
Look, there is a town nearby where I can flee, and it is a small place. Please let me flee there—is it not a small place?
“It is a little one - Probably Lot wished to have it for an inheritance, and therefore pleaded its being a little one, that his request might be the more readily granted.”
“Very well,” he answered, “I will grant this request as well, and will not demolish the town you indicate.
“See, I have accepted thee - How prevalent is prayer with God! Far from refusing to grant a reasonable petition, he shows himself as if under embarrassment to deny any.”
Hurry! Run there quickly, for I cannot do anything until you reach it.” That is why the town was called Zoar.
“I cannot do any thing till thou be come thither - So these heavenly messengers had the strictest commission to take care of Lot and his family; and even the purposes of Divine justice could not be accomplished on the rebellious, till this righteous man…”
Then the LORD rained down sulfur and fire on Sodom and Gomorrah—from the LORD out of the heavens.
“The Lord rained - brimstone and fire from the Lord - As all judgment is committed to the Son of God, many of the primitive fathers and several modern divines have supposed that the words ויהוה vaihovah and מאת יהוה meeth Yehovah imply, Jehovah the…”
Thus He destroyed these cities and the entire plain, including all the inhabitants of the cities and everything that grew on the ground.
“And he overthrew those cities, and all the plain - This forms what is called the lake Asphaltites, Dead Sea, or Salt Sea, which, according to the most authentic accounts, is about seventy miles in length, and eighteen in breadth.”
But Lot’s wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.
“She became a pillar of salt - The vast variety of opinions, both ancient and modern, on the crime of Lot’s wife, her change, and the manner in which that change was effected, are in many cases as unsatisfactory as they are ridiculous.”
Early the next morning, Abraham got up and returned to the place where he had stood before the LORD.
“Abraham gat up early in the morning - Anxious to know what was the effect of the prayers which he had offered to God the preceding day; what must have been his astonishment when he found that all these cities, with the plain which resembled…”
So when God destroyed the cities of the plain, He remembered Abraham, and He brought Lot out of the catastrophe that destroyed the cities where he had lived.
“God remembered Abraham - Though he did not descend lower than ten righteous persons, (see Gen 18:32), yet the Lord had respect to the spirit of his petitions, and spared all those who could be called righteous, and for Abraham’s sake offered salvation to all…”
Lot and his two daughters left Zoar and settled in the mountains—for he was afraid to stay in Zoar—where they lived in a cave.
“Lot went up out of Zoar - From seeing the universal desolation that had fallen upon the land, and that the fire was still continuing its depredations, he feared to dwell in Zoar, lest that also should be consumed, and then went to those very…”
One day the older daughter said to the younger, “Our father is old, and there is no man in the land to sleep with us, as is the custom over…
“Our father is old - And consequently not likely to re-marry; and there is not a man in the earth - none left, according to their opinion in all the land of Canaan, of their own family and kindred; and they might think it unlawful…”