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
So when the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor His disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum to look for Him.
“They also took shipping - That is, as many of them as could get accommodated with boats took them and thus got to Capernaum; but many others doubtless went thither on foot, as it is not at all likely that five or six thousand persons…”
When they found Him on the other side of the sea, they asked Him, “Rabbi, when did You get here?”
“On the other side of the sea - That is, on the sea coast, to the northward of it, where Capernaum lies in the land of Genesaret: but see the note, on Joh 6:17, Joh 6:22.”
Jesus replied, “Truly, truly, I tell you, it is not because you saw these signs that you are looking for Me, but because you ate the loaves and had your…
“Ye seek me, not because ye saw, etc. - Though the miracle of the loaves was one of the most astonishing that ever was wrought upon earth; and though this people had, by the testimony of all their senses, the most convincing proof of its…”
So they asked Him, “What sign then will You perform, so that we may see it and believe You? What will You do?
“What sign - Τι σημειον, What miracle; so the word is evidently used, Joh 2:11, Joh 2:23, and in many other places. That we may see, and believe thee - That, having seen the miracle, we may believe thee to be the promised Messiah.”
Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true…
“Moses gave you not that bread from heaven - Our Lord refutes the argument of the Jews, by proving: 1. That it was not Moses, but God, who gave the manna. 2.”
“Sir,” they said, “give us this bread at all times.”
“Lord, evermore give us this bread - Either meaning, “Let the miracle of the manna be renewed, and continue among us for ever:” or, “Let that bread of which thou hast spoken, become our constant nourishment.””
For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but to do the will of Him who sent Me.
“Not to do mine own will - I am come, not to act according to human motives, passions, or prejudices; but according to infinite wisdom, goodness, and mercy.”
For it is My Father’s will that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in Him shall have eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last…
“This is the will of him that sent me - Lest they should take a wrong meaning out of his words, as many have done since, he tells them that, far from any person being excluded from his mercy, it was the will of God…”
At this, the Jews began to grumble about Jesus because He had said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.”
“The Jews then murmured - Because the whole of his discourse event to prove that he was infinitely greater than Moses; and that he alone could give present peace and eternal glory to men.”
“No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day.
“Except the Father - draw him - But how is a man drawn? St. Augustin answers from the poet, Trahit sua quemque voluptas; a man is attracted by that which he delights in.”
not that anyone has seen the Father except the One who is from God; only He has seen the Father.
“Not that any man hath seen the Father - He does not teach men by appearing personally before them, or by any other outward voice than that of his word and messengers; but he teaches by his Spirit. This teaching from God implies: 1.”
Truly, truly, I tell you, he who believes has eternal life.
“Hath everlasting life - He is entitled to this, on his believing me to be the Messiah, and trusting in me alone for salvation. Our blessed Lord recapitulates here what he had said in the preceding discourse.”
I am the bread of life.
“I am that bread of life - I alone afford, by my doctrine and Spirit, that nourishment by which the soul is saved unto life eternal.”
Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.
“Hath eternal life - This can never be understood of the sacrament of the Lord’s supper. 1. Because this was not instituted till a year after; at the last Passover. 2.”
For My flesh is real food, and My blood is real drink.
“My flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed - Or, rather, My flesh is the true meat, etc. In both clauses of this verse, instead of αληθως, the adverb, I read αληθης, the adjective, agreeing with βρωσις.”
Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood remains in Me, and I in him.
“Dwelleth in me, and I in him - Of all connections and unions, none is so intimate and complete as that which is effected by the digestion of aliments, because they are changed into the very substance of him who eats them; and this our…”
Just as the living Father sent Me and I live because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on Me will live because of Me.
“So he that eateth me, even he shall live by me - From which we learn that the union between Christ and his followers shall be similar to that which subsists between God and Christ.”
Jesus said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.
“In the synagogue - in Capernaum - From Joh 6:26, to this verse, the evangelist gives us the discourse which our Lord preached in the synagogue, in which he was repeatedly interrupted by the Jews; but this gave him the fuller opportunity to proclaim the…”
On hearing it, many of His disciples said, “This is a difficult teaching. Who can accept it?”
“Many therefore of his disciples - So it appears that he had many more than the twelve, who constantly accompanied him. This is a hard saying; who can hear it? - Who can digest such doctrine as this? It is intolerable: it is impracticable.”
Aware that His disciples were grumbling about this teaching, Jesus asked them, “Does this offend you?
“Jesus knew in himself - By giving them this proof that he knew their hearts he also proved that he was God; that he could not be deceived himself, and that it was impossible for him to deceive any; consequently, that the doctrine he taught…”
Then what will happen if you see the Son of Man ascend to where He was before?
“If ye shall see the Son of man ascend - Ye need not be stumbled at what I say concerning eating my flesh and drinking my blood, for ye shall soon have the fullest proof that this is figuratively spoken, for I shall ascend with…”
However, there are some of you who do not believe.” (For Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe and who would betray Him.)
“But there are some of you that believe not - This is addressed to Judas, and to those disciples who left him: Joh 6:66. And who should betray him - Or, who would deliver him up.”
Then Jesus said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to Me unless the Father has granted it to him.”
“Therefore said I unto you - Joh 6:44. See the note there. Except it were given unto him - None can come at first, unless he be drawn by the Father; and none can continue, unless he continue under those sacred influences which God gives…”
From that time on many of His disciples turned back and no longer walked with Him.
“Many of his disciples went back - They no longer associated with him, nor professed to acknowledge him as the Messiah. None of these were of the twelve. Christ had many others who generally attended his ministry, and acknowledged him for the Messiah.”
Simon Peter replied, “Lord, to whom would we go? You have the words of eternal life.
“Simon Peter answered - With his usual zeal and readiness, speaking in behalf of the whole, To whom shall we go? Where shall we find a more gracious master - a more powerful Redeemer - a more suitable Savior?”