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
Whoever listens to you listens to Me; whoever rejects you rejects Me; and whoever rejects Me rejects the One who sent Me.”
“He that despiseth you, despiseth me - “The holy, blessed God said: ‘Honor my statutes, for they are my ambassadors: and a man’s ambassador is like to himself.”
So He told them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.
“I beheld Satan - Or, Satan himself, τον Σαταναν, the very Satan, the supreme adversary, falling as lightning, with the utmost suddenness, as a flash of lightning falls from the clouds, and at the same time in the most observable manner.”
Nevertheless, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.”
“Because your names are written in heaven - This form of speech is taken from the ancient custom of writing the names of all the citizens in a public register, that the several families might be known, and the inheritances properly preserved.”
At that time Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and declared, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and…
“Rejoiced in spirit - Was truly and heartily joyous: felt an inward triumph. But τῳ πνευματι, τῳ ἁγιῳ, the Holy Spirit, is the reading here of BCDKL, six others; the three Syriac, later Persic, Coptic, Ethiopic, Armenian, Vulgate, all the Itala except one, and Augustin…”
All things have been entrusted to Me by My Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the…
“The Codex Alexandrinus, several other very ancient MSS., and some ancient versions, as well as the margin of our own, begin this verse with, And turning to his disciples, he said.”
Then Jesus turned to the disciples and said privately, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see.
“Blessed are the eyes which see the things that ye see - There is a similar saying to this among the rabbins, in Sohar. Genes., where it is said, “Blessed is that generation which the earth shall bear, when the King Messiah cometh.””
Jesus took up this question and said, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho when he fell into the hands of robbers.
“And Jesus answering - Rather, Then Jesus took him up. This I believe to be the meaning of the word ὑπολαβων; he threw out a challenge, and our Lord took him up on his own ground. See Wakefield’s Testament.”
He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine.
“Pouring in oil and wine - These, beaten together, appear to have been used formerly as a common medicine for fresh wounds.”
As they traveled along, Jesus entered a village where a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home.
“A certain village - If this village was Bethany, where Martha and Mary lived, at less than two miles’ distance from Jerusalem, see Joh 11:1, Joh 11:18; Joh 12:2, then this must have happened later than Luke places it; because, in Luk 19:29, he represents…”
But Martha was distracted by all the preparations to be made.
“Martha was cumbered - Περιεσπατο, perplexed, from περι, about, and σπαω, I draw. She was harassed with different cares and employments at the same time; one drawing one way, and another, another: a proper description of a worldly mind.”
But only one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, and it will not be taken away from her.”
“One thing is needful - This is the end of the sentence, according to Bengel. “Now Mary hath chosen, etc.,” begins a new one.”
And forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.’”
“Lead us not into temptation, etc. - Dr. Lightfoot believes that this petition is intended against the visible apparitions of the devil, and his actual obsessions; he thinks that the meaning is too much softened by our translation.”
because a friend of mine has come to me on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him.’
“In his journey is come - Or, perhaps more literally, A friend of mine is come to me out of his way, εξ ὁδου, which renders the case more urgent - a friend of mine, benighted, belated, and who has lost his way, is come…”
And suppose the one inside answers, ‘Do not bother me. My door is already shut, and my children and I are in bed.
“My children are with me in bed - Or, I and my children are in bed; this is Bishop Pearce’s translation, and seems to some preferable to the common one. See a like form of speech in 1Co 16:11, and in Eph 3:18.”
Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?
“Offer him a scorpion? - Σκορπιον. The Greek etymologists derive the name from σκορπιζειν τον ιον, scattering the poison. But is there any similitude between a scorpion and an egg, that the one might be given and taken in place of the other?”
The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them; for she came from the ends of the earth to hear…
“The queen of the south, etc. - Perhaps it would be better to translate, A queen of the south, and the men of this race, shall rise up in judgment, etc. See the note on Luk 11:7.”
No one lights a lamp and puts it in a cellar or under a basket. Instead, he sets it on a stand, so those who enter can see the light.
“No man, when he hath lighted, etc. - See on Mat 5:15 (note). Our Lord intimates, that if he worked a miracle among such an obstinate people, who were determined to disbelieve every evidence of his Messiahship, he should act as a man who lighted…”
Your eye is the lamp of your body. When your eyes are good, your whole body also is full of light.
“The light of the body is the eye - Or, the eye is the lamp of the body. See on Mat 6:22 (note), etc. The 35th and 36th verses are wanting in some MSS., and are variously read in others.”
So if your whole body is full of light, with no part of it in darkness, you will be radiant, as though a lamp were shining on you.”
“The whole shall be full of light - Or, altogether enlightened; i.e. when the eye is perfect, it enlightens the whole body. Every object within the reach of the eye is as completely seen as if there was an eye in every part.”
You fools! Did not the One who made the outside make the inside as well?
“Did not he that made that which is without - Did not the maker of the dish form it so, both outwardly and inwardly, as to answer the purpose for which it was made?”
Woe to you! For you are like unmarked graves, which men walk over without even noticing.”
“Ye are as graves which appear not - In Mat 23:27, our Lord tells them that they exactly resembled white-washed tombs: they had no fairness but on the outside: (see the note there) but here he says they are like hidden tombs, graves which were…”
“Woe to you as well, experts in the law!” He replied. “You weigh men down with heavy burdens, but you yourselves will not lift a finger to lighten their load.
“Ye lade men with burdens - By insisting on the observance of the traditions of the elders, to which it appears, by the way, they paid no great attention themselves. See on Mat 23:4 (note).”
So you are witnesses consenting to the deeds of your fathers: They killed the prophets, and you build their tombs.
“Truly ye bear witness - Ye acknowledge that those of old who killed the prophets were your fathers, and ye are about to show, by your conduct towards me and my apostles, that ye are not degenerated, that ye are as capable of murdering a…”
Because of this, the wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles; some of them they will kill and others they will persecute.’
“The wisdom of God - These seem to be Luke’s words, and to mean that Jesus, the wisdom of God, (as he is called, 1Co 1:24), added the words which follow here, on that occasion: and this interpretation of the words is agreeable to that…”
As a result, this generation will be charged with the blood of all the prophets that has been shed since the foundation of the world,
“That the blood - That the particle ινα may be translated so that, pointing out the event only, not the design or intention, Bishop Pearce has well shown in his note on this place, where he refers to a like use of the word in…”