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.
The rest of the quotation
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
while the land belonged to a mighty man, and a man of honor lived on it.
“But as for the mighty man, he had the earth - איש זרוע ish zeroa, the man of arm. Finger, hand, and arm, are all emblems of strength and power.”
it is so dark you cannot see, and a flood of water covers you.
“Or darkness, that thou canst not see - The sense of this passage, in the connection that the particle or gives it with the preceding verse, is not easy to be ascertained.”
Is not God as high as the heavens? Look at the highest stars, how lofty they are!
“Is not God in the height of heaven? - It appears, from this and the following verses, that Eliphaz was attributing infidel and blasphemous speeches or sentiments to Job.”
They were snatched away before their time, and their foundations were swept away by a flood.
“Whose foundation was overflown with a flood - The unrighteous in the days of Noah, who appear to have had an abundance of all temporal good, (Job 22:18), and who surpassed the deeds of all the former wicked, said in effect to God, Depart from…”
But it was He who filled their houses with good things; so I stay far from the counsel of the wicked.
“But the counsel of the wicked is far from me - Sarcastically quoting Job’s words, Job 21:14, Job 21:16.”
‘Surely our foes are destroyed, and fire has consumed their excess.’
“Whereas our substance is not cut down - We, who fear the Lord, still continue in health and peace; whereas they who have departed from him are destroyed even to their very remnant. Mr.”
and consign your gold to the dust and the gold of Ophir to the stones of the ravines,
“Then shalt thou lay up gold as dust - The original is not fairly rendered in this translation, ושית על עפר בצר veshith al aphar batser, which Montanus renders: Et pone super pulverem munitionem, “And fix a tower upon the dust;” ובצור נחלים אופיר ubetsur…”
He will deliver even one who is not innocent, rescuing him through the cleanness of your hands.”
“He shall deliver the island of the innocent - The word אי ai, which we translate island, is most probably the Arabic particle (Arabic) whosoever, whatsoever, any, whosoever he may be, as (Arabic) ai rajuli, whatsoever man he may be.”
“Even today my complaint is bitter. His hand is heavy despite my groaning.
“Even to-day is my complaint bitter - Job goes on to maintain his own innocence, and shows that he has derived neither conviction nor consolation from the discourses of his friends.”
Would He contend with me in His great power? No, He would certainly take note of me.
“Will he plead against me - He would not exhibit his majesty and his sovereign authority to strike me dumb, or so overawe me that I could not speak in my own vindication.”
Yet He knows the way I have taken; when He has tested me, I will come forth as gold.
“But he knoweth the way that I take - He approves of my conduct; my ways please him. He tries me: but, like gold, I shall lose nothing in the fire; I shall come forth more pure and luminous.”
I have not departed from the command of His lips; I have treasured the words of His mouth more than my daily bread.
“The commandment of his lips - The written law that proceeded from his own mouth. I have esteemed the words of his mouth - Mr.”
For He carries out His decree against me, and He has many such plans.
“For he performeth the thing that is appointed for me - Coverdale translates: - He rewardeth me into my bosome, and many other thinges mo doth he, as he maye by his power.”
Men move boundary stones; they pasture stolen flocks.
“Some remove the landmarks - Stones or posts were originally set up to ascertain the bounds of particular estates: and this was necessary in open countries, before hedges and fences were formed.”
They gather fodder in the fields and glean the vineyards of the wicked.
“They reap every one his corn in the field - This is perfectly characteristic. These wandering hordes often make sudden irruptions, and carry off the harvest of grain, olives, vines, etc., and plunge with it into the wilderness, where none can follow them.”
Without clothing, they wander about naked. They carry the sheaves, but still go hungry.
“They cause him to go naked - These cruel, hard-hearted oppressors seize the cloth made for the family wear, or the wool and flax out of which such clothes should be made.”
When daylight is gone, the murderer rises to kill the poor and needy; in the night he is like a thief.
“The murderer rising with the light - Perhaps the words should be read as Mr. Good has done: - With the daylight ariseth the murderer; Poor and needy, he sheddeth blood.”
In the dark they dig through houses; by day they shut themselves in, never to experience the light.
“In the dark they dig through houses - Thieves in Bengal very frequently dig through the mud wall and under the clay floors of houses, and, entering unperceived, plunder them while the inhabitants are asleep. Mr.”
They are but foam on the surface of the water; their portion of the land is cursed, so that no one turns toward their vineyards.
“He is swift as the waters - Literally, Light is he on the face of the waters: and cursed shall be their portion on the earth, which Mr.”
The womb forgets them; the worm feeds on them; they are remembered no more. So injustice is like a broken tree.
“The womb shall forget him - The mother that bare him shall have no affection for him, nor be afflicted at his death. But the word רחם rechem signifies compassion, mercy. Mercy shall be unmindful of him. How dreadful such a state!”
Yet by His power, God drags away the mighty; though rising up, they have no assurance of life.
“He draweth also the mighty - Calmet gives the following version of the original: “He draws with him guards for his defense; he raises himself up, and does not feel assured of his life.””
Then Bildad the Shuhite replied:
“Bildad the Shuhite - This is the last attack on Job; the others felt themselves foiled, though they had not humility enough to acknowledge it, but would not again return to the attack.”
“Dominion and awe belong to God; He establishes harmony in the heights of heaven.
“Dominion and fear are with him - God is an absolute sovereign; his fear is on all the hosts of heaven; and by his sovereignty he establishes and preserves order in the heavens, and among all the inhabitants of the eternal world: how canst thou…”
How then can a man be just before God? How can one born of woman be pure?
“How then can man be justified? - Or, ונה umah, With what, shall a man be justified with God? Though this is no conclusion from Bildad’s premises, yet the question is of the highest importance to man.”
how much less man, who is but a maggot, and the son of man, who is but a worm!”
“How much less man, that is a worm? - Or as the Targum - “How much more man, who in his life is a reptile; and the son of man, who in his death is a worm.””