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
Once again, Jesus spoke to the people and said, “I am the light of the world.
“Then spake Jesus again unto them - Allowing the story about the woman taken in adultery to be authentic, and to stand here in its proper place, we may consider that our Lord, having begun to teach the people in the temple, was interrupted by…”
Jesus replied, “Even if I testify about Myself, My testimony is valid, because I know where I came from and where I am going.
“I know whence I came - I came from God, and am going to God, and can neither do nor say any thing but what leads to and glorifies him.”
He spoke these words while teaching in the temple courts, near the treasury. Yet no one seized Him, because His hour had not yet come.
“The treasury - Lightfoot observes, from the rabbins, that the treasury was in what was called the court of the women - that there were thirteen chests in it; in the thirteenth only the women were permitted to put their offerings.”
So the Jews began to ask, “Will He kill Himself, since He says, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come’?”
“Will he kill himself? - They now understood that he spoke concerning his death; but before, Joh 7:35, they thought he spoke of going to some of the Grecian provinces, to preach to the dispersed Jews.”
“I have much to say about you and much to judge. But the One who sent Me is truthful, and what I have heard from Him, I tell the world.”
“I have many things to say and to judge of you - Or, to speak and to condemn, etc. I could speedily expose all your iniquities - your pride and ambition, your hypocrisy and irreligion, your hatred to the light, and your malice against the…”
So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing on My own, but speak…
“When ye have lifted up - When ye have crucified me, and thus filled up the measure of your iniquities, ye shall know that I am the Christ, by the signs that shall follow; and ye shall know that what I spoke is true, by…”
As Jesus spoke these things, many believed in Him.
“As he spake these words, many believed on him - The same sun that hardens the clay softens the wax.”
Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
“Ye shall know the truth - Shall have a constant experimental knowledge of its power and efficacy.”
Jesus replied, “Truly, truly, I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.
“Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin - Or, δουλος εστι, etc., is the slave of sin. This was the slavery of which Christ spoke; and deliverance from it, was the liberty which he promised.”
I speak of what I have seen in the presence of the Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.”
“I speak that which I have seen - I speak nothing but that unchangeable, eternal truth which I have received from the bosom of God.”
You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out his desires.
“Ye are of your father the devil - Ye are the seed of the old serpent. See on Joh 8:37 (note). The lusts of your father - Like father like son. What Satan desires, ye desire; because ye are filled with his nature.”
Which of you can prove Me guilty of sin? If I speak the truth, why do you not believe Me?
“Which of you convinceth me of sin? - Do you pretend to reject the truths which I announce, because my life does not correspond to the doctrines I have taught? But can any of you prove me guilty of any fault?”
The Jews answered Him, “Are we not right to say that You are a Samaritan and You have a demon?”
“Thou art a Samaritan - This was the same, among them, as heretic, or schismatic, among us. This is the only time in which the Jews gave our Lord this title of reproach; and they probably grounded it on his having preached among them, and…”
Jesus answered, “If I glorify Myself, My glory means nothing. The One who glorifies Me is My Father, of whom you say ‘He is our God.’
“Your God - Many MSS. and most of the versions read ἡμων, our, instead of ὑμων. The variation is of very little consequence. They called God their God, while enemies to him both in their spirit and conduct.”
Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see My day. He saw it and was glad.”
“Abraham rejoiced to see my day - Or, he earnestly desired to see my day; ηγαλλιασατο, from αγαν, very much, and ἁλλομαι, I leap - his soul leaped forward in earnest hope and strong expectation that he might see the incarnation of Jesus Christ.”
“Truly, truly, I tell you,” Jesus declared, “before Abraham was born, I am!”
“Before Abraham was, I am - The following is a literal translation of Calmet’s note on this passage: - “I am from all eternity. I have existed before all ages.”
and His disciples asked Him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
“Who did sin, this man, or his parents - The doctrine of the transmigration of souls appears to have been an article in the creed of the Pharisees, and it was pretty general both among the Greeks and the Asiatics.”
While it is daytime, we must do the works of Him who sent Me. Night is coming, when no one can work.
“While it is day - Though I plainly perceive that the cure of this man will draw down upon me the malice of the Jewish rulers, yet I must accomplish the work for which I came into the world whole it is day - while…”
When Jesus had said this, He spit on the ground, made some mud, and applied it to the man’s eyes.
“Anointed the eyes of the blind man - It would be difficult to find out the reason which induced our Lord to act thus.”
At this, his neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging began to ask, “Isn’t this the man who used to sit and beg?”
“That he was blind - Ὁτι τυφλος ην: but, instead of this, προσαιτης, when he begged, or was a beggar, is the reading of ABC*DKL, seven others, both the Syriac, both the Arabic, later Persic, Coptic, Ethiopic, Armenian, Sahidic, Gothic, Slavonic, Vulgate, eight copies of…”
Some claimed that he was, but others said, “No, he just looks like him.” But the man kept saying, “I am the one.”
“Some said, This is he - This miracle was not wrought in private - nor before a few persons - nor was it lightly credited.”
He answered, “The man they call Jesus made some mud and anointed my eyes, and He told me to go to Siloam and wash.
“A man that is called Jesus - The whole of this relation is simple and artless in the highest degree.”
“Where is He?” they asked. “I do not know,” he answered.
“Where is he? - They had designed to seize and deliver him up to the Sanhedrin, as a violater of the law, because he had done this on the Sabbath day.”
Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened his eyes was a Sabbath.
“It was the Sabbath - Some of the ancient rabbins taught, and they have been followed by some moderns, not much better skilled in physic than themselves, that the saliva is a cure for several disorders of the eyes; but the former held this to…”
Because of this, some of the Pharisees said, “This man is not from God, for He does not keep the Sabbath.”
“This man is not of God - He can neither be the Messiah, nor a prophet, for he has broken the Sabbath. The Jews always argued falsely on this principle.”