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
Instead of fragrance there will be a stench; instead of a belt, a rope; instead of styled hair, baldness; instead of fine clothing, sackcloth; instead of beauty, shame.
“Instead of sweet smell “perfume” - A principal part of the delicacy of the Asiatic ladies consists in the use of baths, and of the richest oils and perfumes; an attention to which is in some degree necessary in those hot countries.”
And the gates of Zion will lament and mourn; destitute, she will sit on the ground.
“Sit upon the ground - Sitting on the ground was a posture that denoted mourning and deep distress.”
On that day the Branch of the LORD will be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land will be the pride and glory of Israel’s survivors.
“The branch of the Lord “the branch of Jehovah” - The Messiah of Jehovah, says the Chaldee. And Kimchi says, The Messiah, the Son of David.”
when the Lord has washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion and cleansed the bloodstains from the heart of Jerusalem by a spirit of judgment and a spirit…
“The spirit of burning - Means the fire of God’s wrath, by which he will prove and purify his people; gathering them into his furnace, in order to separate the dross from the silver, the bad from the good.”
a shelter to give shade from the heat by day, and a refuge and hiding place from the storm and the rain.
“A tabernacle - In countries subject to violent tempests, as well as to intolerable heat, a portable tent is a necessary part of a traveller’s baggage, for defense and shelter. And to such tents the words of the text make evident allusion.”
He dug it up and cleared the stones and planted the finest vines. He built a watchtower in the middle and dug out a winepress as well.
“And gathered out the stones “And he cleared it from the stones” - This was agreeable to the husbandry: “Saxa, summa parte terrae, et vites et arbores laeduct; ima parte refrigerant;” Columell. de arb. 3: “Saxosum facile est expedire lectione lapidum;” Id. 2:2.”
I will make it a wasteland, neither pruned nor cultivated, and thorns and briers will grow up. I will command the clouds that rain shall not fall on it.”
“There shall come up briers and thorns “The thorn shall spring up in it” - One MS. has בשמיר beshamir. The true reading seems to be בו שמור bo shamir, which is confirmed by the Septuagint, Syriac, and Vulgate.”
Woe to you who add house to house and join field to field until no place is left and you live alone in the land.
“Wo unto them that - lay field to field “You who lay field unto field” - Read תקריבו takribu, in the second person; to answer to the verb following. So Vulgate.”
Woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of deceit and pull sin along with cart ropes,
“With a cart-rope “As a long cable” - The Septuagint, Aquila, Sym., and Theod., for בחבלי bechabley, read כחבלי kechahley, ὡς σχοινιῳ, or σχοινιοις; and the Septuagint, instead of שוא shau, read some other word signifying long; ὡς σχοινιῳ μακρῳ; and so likewise the Syriac…”
Woe to those who are heroes in drinking wine and champions in mixing strong drink,
“Mighty to drink wine - “They show not,” says Kimchi, “their strength in combating their enemies, but in drunkenness and debauchery.””
Therefore, as a tongue of fire consumes the straw, and as dry grass shrivels in the flame, so their roots will decay and their blossoms will blow away like dust…
“The flame “The tongue of fire” - “The flame, because it is in the shape of a tongue; and so it is called metaphorically.” Sal. ben Melec.”
He lifts a banner for the distant nations and whistles for those at the ends of the earth. Behold—how speedily and swiftly they come!
“He will - hiss “He will hist” - “The metaphor is taken from the practice of those that keep bees, who draw them out of their hives into the fields, and lead them back again, συρισμασι, by a hiss or a whistle.””
Their arrows are sharpened, and all their bows are strung. The hooves of their horses are like flint; their chariot wheels are like a whirlwind.
“Their horses’ hoofs shall be counted like flint “The hoofs of their horses shall be counted as adamant” - The shoeing of horses with iron plates nailed to the hoof is quite a modern practice, and was unknown to the ancients, as appears from the…”
In that day they will roar over it, like the roaring of the sea.
“If one look unto the land, etc. “And these shall look to the heaven upward, and down to the earth” - ונבט לארץ venibbat laarets. Και εμβλεψονται εις την γην.”
Above Him stood seraphim, each having six wings: With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they were flying.
“Above it stood the seraphim - שרפים seraphim, from שרף seraph, to burn. He saw says Kimchi, the angels as flames of fire, that the depravity of that generation might be exhibited, which was worthy of being totally burnt up.”
Then one of the seraphim flew to me, and in his hand was a glowing coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar.
“A live coal - The word of prophecy, which was put into the mouth of the prophet. From off the altar - That is, from the altar of burnt-offerings, before the door of the temple, on which the fire that came down at first from…”
Make the hearts of this people calloused; deafen their ears and close their eyes.
“Make the heart of this people fat “Gross” - The prophet speaks of the event, the fact as it would actually happen, not of God’s purpose and act by his ministry.”
and say to him: Calm down and be quiet. Do not be afraid or disheartened over these two smoldering stubs of firewood—over the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram and…
“The Syriac omits וארם vearam, “and Syria;” the Vulgate reads מלך ארם melech aram, “king of Syria:” one or the other seems to be the true reading.”
Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call Him Immanuel.
“The Lord “Jehovah” - For אדני Adonai, twenty-five of Kennicott’s MSS., nine ancient, and fourteen of De Rossi’s, read יהוה Jehovah. And so Isa 7:20, eighteen MSS. Immanuel - For עמנואל Immanuel, many MSS. and editions have עמנו אל immanu El, God with us.”
On that day the LORD will whistle to the flies at the farthest streams of the Nile and to the bees in the land of Assyria.
“Hiss for the fly “Hist the fly” - See note on Isa 5:26. Egypt, and - Assyria - Sennacherib, Esarhaddon, Pharaoh-necho, and Nebuchadnezzar, who one after another desolated Judea.”
On that day the Lord will use a razor hired from beyond the Euphrates—the king of Assyria—to shave your head and the hair of your legs, and to remove your…
“The river - That is, the Euphrates: הנהר hanahar. So read the Septuagint and two MSS. Shall the Lord shave with a razor that is hired “Jehovah shall shave by the hired razor” - To shave with the hired razor the head, the feet, and…”
For before the boy knows how to cry ‘Father’ or ‘Mother,’ the wealth of Damascus and the plunder of Samaria will be carried off by the king of Assyria.”
“For before the child - For my father and my mother, one MS. and the Vulgate have his father and his mother.”
“Because this people has rejected the gently flowing waters of Shiloah and rejoiced in Rezin and the son of Remaliah,
“Forasmuch as this people refuseth “Because this people have rejected” - The gentle waters of Shiloah, a small fountain and brook just without Jerusalem, which supplied a pool within the city for the use of the inhabitants, is an apt emblem of the state of…”
It will pour into Judah, swirling and sweeping over it, reaching up to the neck; its spreading streams will cover your entire land, O Immanuel!
“He shall reach even to the neck - He compares Jerusalem, says Kimchi, to the head of the human body.”
“Do not call conspiracy everything these people regard as conspiracy. Do not fear what they fear; do not live in dread.
“Say ye not, A confederacy “Say ye not, It is holy” - קשר kesher. Both the reading and the sense of this word are doubtful. The Septuagint manifestly read קשה kashah; for they render it by σκληρον, hard.”