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
The Jews still did not believe that the man had been blind and had received his sight until they summoned his parents
“But the Jews did not believe - All the subterfuge they could use was simply to sin against their conscience, by asserting that the man had not been blind; but out of this subterfuge they were soon driven by the testimony of the parents, who…”
But how he can now see or who opened his eyes, we do not know. Ask him. He is old enough to speak for himself.”
“He is of age - Ἡλικιαν εχει, literally, he has stature, i.e. he is a full-grown man; and in this sense the phrase is used by the best Greek writers. See Kypke and Raphelius. Mature age was fixed among the Jews at thirty years.”
His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews. For the Jews had already determined that anyone who confessed Jesus as the Christ would be put out of…
“Put out of the synagogue - That is, excommunicated - separated from all religious connection with those who worshipped God. This was the lesser kind of excommunication among the Jews and was termed nidui.”
So a second time they called for the man who had been blind and said, “Give glory to God! We know that this man is a sinner.”
“Give God the praise - Having called the man a second time, they proceeded to deal with him in the most solemn manner; and therefore they put him to his oath; for the words above were the form of an oath, proposed by the chief…”
He replied, “I already told you, and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? Do you also want to become His disciples?”
“I have told you already - So he did, Joh 9:15. And did ye not hear? Ye certainly did. Why then do you wish to hear it again? Is it because ye wish to become his disciples?”
Then they heaped insults on him and said, “You are His disciple; we are disciples of Moses.
“Then they reviled him - Ελοιδορησαν. Eustathius derives λοιδορια from λογος, a word, and δορυ, a spear: - they spoke cutting, piercing words. Solomon talks of some who spoke like the piercings of a sword, Pro 12:18.”
“That is remarkable indeed!” the man said. “You do not know where He is from, and yet He opened my eyes.
“Why herein is a marvellous thing - As if he had said, This is wonderful indeed! Is it possible that such persons as you are, whose business it is to distinguish good from evil, and who pretend to know a true from a false prophet…”
Never before has anyone heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind.
“Since the world began - Εκ του αιωνος, From the age - probably meaning from the commencement of time.”
They replied, “You were born in utter sin, and you are instructing us?” And they threw him out.
“Thou wast altogether born in sins - Thou hast not only been a vile wretch in some other pre-existent state, but thy parents also have been grossly iniquitous; therefore thou and they are punished by this blindness: Thou wast altogether born in sins - thou…”
“Who is He, Sir?” he replied. “Tell me so that I may believe in Him.”
“Who is he, Lord? - It is very likely that the blind man did not know that it was Jesus the Christ who now spoke to him; for it is evident he had never seen him before this time; and he might now see him…”
“Lord, I believe,” he said. And he worshiped Jesus.
“And he said, Lord, I believe - That is, I believe thou art the Messiah; and, to give the fullest proof of the sincerity of his faith, he fell down before and adored him.”
Some of the Pharisees who were with Him heard this, and they asked Him, “Are we blind too?”
“Are we blind also? - These Pharisees understood Christ as speaking of blindness in a spiritual sense, and wished to know if he considered them in that state.”
But the one who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep.
“He that entereth in by the door - Observe here the marks, qualities, and duties of a good pastor; The first mark is, that he has a lawful entrance into the ministry by the internal call of Christ, namely, by an impulse proceeding from his…”
When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.
“He goeth before them - A sixth mark of a true pastor is, he gives them a good example: he not only preaches, but he lives, the truth of the Gospel; he enters into the depths of the salvation of God; and, having thus explored…”
All who came before Me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them.
“All that ever came before me - Or, as some translate, all that came instead of me, προ εμου, i.e.”
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come that they may have life, and have it in all its fullness.
“But for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy - Those who enter into the priesthood that they may enjoy the revenues of the Church, are the basest and vilest of thieves and murderers.”
The hired hand is not the shepherd, and the sheep are not his own. When he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away.
“But he that is a hireling - Or, as my old MS. Bible reads it, the marchaunt, he who makes merchandise of men’s souls; bartering them, and his own too, for filthy lucre.”
I am the good shepherd. I know My sheep and My sheep know Me,
“I - know my sheep - I know, τα εμα, them that are mine: I know their hearts, their wishes, their purposes, their circumstances; and I approve of them; for in this sense the word to know is often taken in the Scriptures.”
I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them in as well, and they will listen to My voice.
“Other sheep I have - The Gentiles and Samaritans. As if our Lord had said, Do not imagine that I shall lay down my life for the Jews, exclusively of all other people; no: I shall die also for the Gentiles; for by the grace…”
Again there was division among the Jews because of Jesus’ message.
“There was a division - Σχισμα, a schism, a rent. They were divided in their opinions; one part received the light, and the other resisted it. Again - There was a dissension of this kind before among the same people; see Joh 9:16.”
Many of them said, “He is demon-possessed and insane. Why would you listen to Him?”
“He hath a devil, and is mad - So, then, a demoniac and a madman were not exactly the same in the apprehension of the Jews; no more than the effect is the same with the cause which produces it.”
At that time the Feast of Dedication took place in Jerusalem. It was winter,
“The feast of the dedication - This was a feast instituted by Judas Maccabeus, in commemoration of his purifying the temple after it had been defiled by Antiochus Epiphanes.”
So the Jews gathered around Him and demanded, “How long will You keep us in suspense? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.”
“How long dost than make us to doubt? - Or, How long dost thou kill us with suspense? Ἑως ποτε την ψυχην ἡμων αιρεις, literally, How long wilt thou take away our life? Mr.”
But because you are not My sheep, you refuse to believe.
“Ye are not of my sheep - Ye have not the disposition of those who come unto me to be instructed and saved: see what follows.”
I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them out of My hand.
“They shall never perish - Why? Because they hear my voice, and follow me; therefore I know, I approve of and love them, and give them eternal life. They who continue to hear Christ’s voice, and to follow him, shall never perish.”