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
Until now you have not asked for anything in My name. Ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be complete.
“Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name - Ye have not as yet considered me the great Mediator between God and man; but this is one of the truths which shall be more fully revealed to you by the Holy Spirit.”
I came from the Father and entered the world. In turn, I will leave the world and go to the Father.”
“I came forth from the Father - With whom I existed from eternity in glory. Am come into the world - By my incarnation. I leave the world - By my death. And go to the Father - By my ascension.”
Now we understand that You know all things and that You have no need for anyone to question You. Because of this, we believe that You came from God.”
“Now are we sure that thou knowest all things - Is not the following the meaning of the disciples?”
“Look, an hour is coming and has already come when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and you will leave Me all alone.
“The hour cometh - Ye shall shortly have need of all the faith ye profess: ye now believe me to be the Omniscient; but ye will find difficulty to maintain this faith when ye see me seized, condemned, and crucified as a malefactor.”
For You granted Him authority over all people, so that He may give eternal life to all those You have given Him.
“As thou hast given him power - As the Messiah, Jesus Christ received from the Father universal dominion. All flesh, i.e.”
I have glorified You on earth by accomplishing the work You gave Me to do.
“I have glorified thee - Our Lord, considering himself as already sacrificed for the sin of the world, speaks of having completed the work which God had given him to do: and he looks forward to that time when, through the preaching of his Gospel…”
I have revealed Your name to those You have given Me out of the world. They were Yours; You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word.
“II. Our Lord’s Prayer for His Disciples, Joh 17:6-19 I have manifested thy name - Εφανερωσα, I have brought it into light, and caused it to shine in itself, and to illuminate others.”
For I have given them the words You gave Me, and they have received them.
“I have given - them the words - I have delivered thy doctrine to them, so that they have had a pure teaching immediately from heaven: neither Jewish fables nor fictions of men have been mingled with it.”
All I have is Yours, and all You have is Mine; and in them I have been glorified.
“I am glorified in them - Christ speaks of the things which were not, but which should be, as though they were. He anticipates the glorifying of his name by the successful preaching of the apostles.”
While I was with them, I protected and preserved them by Your name, the name You gave Me.
“I kept them in thy name - In thy doctrine and truth. But the son of perdition - So we find that Judas, whom all account to have been lost, and whose case at best is extremely dubious, was first given by God to Christ?”
I have given them Your word and the world has hated them; for they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.
“I have given them thy word - Or, thy doctrine - τον λογον σου. In this sense the word λογος is often used by St. John. And the world hath hated them - The Jewish rulers, etc., have hated them. - Why?”
As You sent Me into the world, I have also sent them into the world.
“As thou hast sent me - so have I also sent them - The apostles had the same commission which Christ had, considered as man - they were endued with the same Spirit, so that they could not err, and their word was accompanied with…”
I am not asking on behalf of them alone, but also on behalf of those who will believe in Me through their message,
“III. Our Lord’s Prayer for His Church, and for All Who Would Believe on His Name, Through the Preaching of the Apostles and Their Successor. Joh 17:20-26. See on Joh 17:1 (note).”
that all of them may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I am in You.
“That they all may be one - This prayer was literally answered to the first believers, who were all of one heart and of one soul: Act 4:32. And why is it that believers are not in the same spirit now?”
Father, I want those You have given Me to be with Me where I am, that they may see the glory You gave Me because You loved Me before the…
“That they may behold my glory - That they may enjoy eternal felicity with me in thy kingdom. So the word is used, Joh 3:3; Mat 5:8.”
Righteous Father, although the world has not known You, I know You, and they know that You sent Me.
“The world hath not known thee - Has not acknowledged me. See on Joh 1:11, Joh 1:12 (note). And these have known - Here our Lord, returning to the disciples, speaks: 1st. Of their having received him as the Messiah; 2dly.”
And I have made Your name known to them and will continue to make it known, so that the love You have for Me may be in them, and I…
“I have declared unto them thy name, etc. - I have taught them the true doctrine. And will declare it - This he did: 1st. By the conversations he had with his disciples after his resurrection, during the space of forty days. 2dly.”
Now Judas His betrayer also knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with His disciples.
“Judas - knew the place - As many had come from different quarters to celebrate the passover at Jerusalem, it could not be an easy matter to find lodging in the city: Jesus therefore chose to pass the night in the garden with his disciples…”
Jesus, knowing all that was coming upon Him, stepped forward and asked them, “Whom are you seeking?”
“Jesus knowing all things, etc. - He had gone through all his preaching, working of miracles, and passion, and had nothing to do now but to offer up himself on the cross; he therefore went forth to meet them, to deliver himself up to death.”
“Jesus of Nazareth,” they answered. Jesus said, “I am He.” And Judas His betrayer was standing there with them.
“Jesus of Nazareth - They did not say this till after Judas kissed Christ, which was the sign which he had agreed with the soldiers, etc., to give them, that they might know whom they were to seize: see Mat 26:48.”
When Jesus said, “I am He,” they drew back and fell to the ground.
“They went backward, and fell to the ground - None of the other evangelists mentions this very important circumstance.”
“I told you that I am He,” Jesus replied. “So if you are looking for Me, let these men go.”
“Let these go their way - These words are rather words of authority, than words of entreaty. I voluntarily give myself up to you, but you must not molest one of these my disciples. At your peril injure them. Let them go about their business.”
Then Simon Peter drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his right ear. The servant’s name was Malchus.
“Having a sword - See the note on Luk 22:36. Cut off his right ear - He probably designed to have cloven his scull in two, but God turned it aside, and only permitted the ear to be taken off; and this he would not…”
“Put your sword back in its sheath!” Jesus said to Peter. “Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given Me?”
“The cup which my Father hath given me - The cup signifies, sometimes the lot of life, whether prosperous or adverse: here it signifies the final sufferings of Christ.”
Then the band of soldiers, with its commander and the officers of the Jews, arrested Jesus and bound Him.
“The captain - Χιλιαρχος, The chiliarch, or chief over one thousand men - answering nearly to a colonel with us. See the note on Luk 22:4. He was probably the prefect or captain of the temple guard.”