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
Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever believes in Me will also do the works that I am doing.
“And greater works than these - The miracles which I have wrought could not have been wrought but by the omnipotence of God; but that omnipotence can work greater.”
And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Advocate to be with you forever—
“I will pray the Father - After having made an atonement for the sin of the world, I will become the Mediator between God and man; and through my mediation and intercession shall all the blessings of grace and glory be acquired.”
I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.
“I will not leave you comfortless - Literally, orphans. The original word ορφανος, is by some derived from ορφνος, obscure, dark, because, says Mintert, an orphan (one deprived of father and mother) is little esteemed, neglected, and is obliged to wander about in obscurity and…”
On that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you are in Me, and I am in you.
“That I am in my Father - After my resurrection, ye shall be more fully convinced of this important truth, that I and the Father are One; for I will live in you by the energy of my Spirit, and ye shall live in me…”
Judas (not Iscariot) asked Him, “Lord, why are You going to reveal Yourself to us and not to the world?”
“Judas - The same as Thaddeus and Lebbeus, the brother of James, and author of what is called the epistle of Jude. How is it - Or, how can it be - τι γεγονεν, what is to happen? - on what account is it?”
Whoever does not love Me does not keep My words. The word that you hear is not My own, but it is from the Father who sent Me.
“He that loveth me not, etc. - Hence we learn that the man who is not obedient to the testimonies of Christ does not love him; and the Spirit of this truth has said, He who loves not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be…”
But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have told you.
“He shall teach you all things - If in the things which I have already spoken to you, there appear to you any obscurity, the Holy Spirit, the Advocate, Counsellor, and Instructer, will take away all your doubts, free you from all embarrassment, and give…”
You heard Me say, ‘I am going away, and I am coming back to you.’
“I go away - To the Father by my death: And come again unto you - By my resurrection. Ye would rejoice - Because, as the Messiah, I am going to receive a kingdom, and power, and glory, for ever.”
I will not speak with you much longer, for the prince of this world is coming, and he has no claim on Me.
“The prince of this world - Τουτου, of this, is omitted by ABDEGHKLMS, Mt. BH, one hundred others; both the Syriac, later Persic, all the Arabic, and several of the primitive fathers.”
If you keep My commandments, you will remain in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and remain in His love.
“If ye keep my commandments, etc. - Hence we learn that it is impossible to retain a sense of God’s pardoning love, without continuing in the obedience of faith.”
This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
“That ye love one another - See on Joh 13:34 (note). So deeply was thus commandment engraved on the heart of this evangelist that St. Jerome says, lib. iii. c. 6, Com.”
You did not choose Me, but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will remain—so that whatever you ask the Father in My name…
“Ye have not chosen me - Ye have not elected me as your Teacher: I have called you to be my disciples; witnesses and depositories of the truth. It was customary among the Jews for every person to choose his own teacher.”
If the world hates you, understand that it hated Me first.
“If the world hate you - As the followers of Christ were to be exposed to the hatred of the world, it was no small consolation to them to know that that hatred would be only in proportion to their faith and holiness; and that…”
Remember the word that I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master.’
“If they have kept my saying - Or, doctrine. Whosoever acknowledges me for the Christ will acknowledge you for my ministers. Some translate the passage thus: If they have Watched my sayings, i.e.”
If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin. Now, however, they have no excuse for their sin.
“But now they have no cloke for their sin - (margin: Or, excuse) They are without excuse. See the note on Joh 9:41.”
When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father—He will testify about Me.
“But when the Comforter is come - See on Joh 14:16 (note). 15:26-27He shall testify and ye also shall bear witness - He shall bear his testimony in your souls, and ye shall bear this testimony to the world.”
They will put you out of the synagogues. In fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God.
“They shall put you out of the synagogues - They will excommunicate you, and consider you as execrable, and utterly unworthy to hold any commerce with God by religion; or with man by civil fellowship. See on Joh 9:22 (note).”
But I have told you these things so that when their hour comes, you will remember that I told you about them.
“At the beginning - I would not trouble you by speaking of these things pointedly at first, when I chose you to be my disciples, but have referred them to the present time, lest you should be discouraged; and now only declare them because it…”
And when He comes, He will convict the world in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment:
“He will reprove - Ελεγξει, He will demonstrate these matters so clearly as to leave no doubt on the minds of those who are simple of heart; and so fully as to confound and shut the mouths of those who are gainsayers.”
in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will no longer see Me;
“Of righteousness - Of my innocence and holiness, because I go away to my Father; of which my resurrection from the dead, and my ascension to heaven, shall be complete proofs.”
In a little while you will see Me no more, and then after a little while you will see Me.”
“A little while - He had but a few hours to live. And ye shall not see me - I shall be hidden from your view in the grave.”
They kept asking, “Why is He saying, ‘a little while’? We do not understand what He is saying.”
“What is this that he saith - They knew from what he had said that he was to die, but knew not what he meant by their seeing him again in a little time.”
Truly, truly, I tell you, you will weep and wail while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy.
“Ye shall weep and lament - To see me crucified and laid in the grave. But the world shall rejoice - The chief priests, scribes, Pharisees, and persecuting Jews in general, will triumph, hoping that their bad cause is crowned with success.”
A woman has pain in childbirth because her time has come; but when she brings forth her child, she forgets her anguish because of her joy that a child has…
“For joy that a man is born - Ανθρωπος is put here for a human creature, whether male or female; as homo among the Romans denoted either man or woman.”
So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.
“Your joy no man taketh from you - Or, shall take away. Some excellent MSS. and versions read the verb in the future tense.”