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
And whoever welcomes a little child like this in My name welcomes Me.
“One such little child - As our Lord in the preceding verses considers a little child an emblem of a genuine disciple, so by the term in this verse he means a disciple only. “Whosoever will receive, i.e.”
See that you do not look down on any of these little ones.
“One of these little ones - One of my simple, loving, humble disciples. Their angels - always behold - Our Lord here not only alludes to, but, in my opinion, establishes the notion received by almost all nations, viz.”
What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go out to…
“Doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains - So our common translation reads the verse; others, Doth he not leave the ninety and nine Upon The Mountains, and go, etc.”
In the same way, your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.
“It is not the will of your Father - If any soul be finally lost, it is not because God’s will or counsel was against its salvation, or that a proper provision had not been made for it; but that, though light came into the…”
But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’
“2. Take with thee one or two more - Men whom he esteems, who may then confirm and enforce what thou sayest; and afterwards, if need require, bear witness of what was spoken. If even this do not succeed, then, and not before,”
Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.
“Whatsoever ye shall bind, etc. - Whatever determinations ye make, in conformity to these directions for your conduct to an offending brother, will be accounted just, and ratified by the Lord.”
For where two or three gather together in My name, there am I with them.”
“For where two - are gathered together in thy name - There are many sayings among the Jews almost exactly similar to this, such as, Wherever even two persons are sitting in discourse concerning the law, the Divine presence is among them.”
Jesus answered, “I tell you, not just seven times, but seventy-seven times!
“Seventy times seven - There is something very remarkable in these words, especially if collated with Gen 4:24, where the very same words are used - “If any man kill Lamech, he shall be avenged seventy times seven.””
As he began the settlements, a debtor was brought to him owing ten thousand talents.
“Ten thousand talents - Μυριων ταλαντων, a myriad of talents, the highest number known in Greek arithmetical notation.”
Then the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Have patience with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’
“Fell down and worshipped him - Προσεκυνει αυτω, crouched as a dog before him, with the greatest deference, submission, and anxiety. Have patience with me - Μακροθυμησον επ’ εμοι, be long-minded towards me - give me longer space.”
But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii.
“A hundred pence - Rather denarii. The denarius was a Roman coin, worth about seven-pence halfpenny English. The original word should be retained, as our word penny does not convey the seventh part of the meaning. A hundred denarii would amount to about 3l. 2s.”
So his fellow servant fell down and begged him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you back.’
“Fell down at his feet - This clause is wanting in several ancient MSS., versions, and fathers. Several printed editions also have omitted it; Griesbach has left it out of the text.”
But he refused. Instead, he went and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay his debt.
“And he would not, etc. - To the unmerciful, God will show no mercy; this is an eternal purpose of the Lord, which never can be changed. God teaches us what to do to a fellow-sinner, by what He does to us.”
Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had on you?’
“Shouldest not thou also have had compassion - Ουκ εδει και σε, Did it not become thee also? What a cutting reproach!”
In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should repay all that he owed.
“Delivered him to the tormentors - Not only continued captivity is here intended, but the tortures to be endured in it.”
Large crowds followed Him, and He healed them there.
“Great multitudes followed him - Some to be instructed - some to be healed - some through curiosity - and some to ensnare him.”
Jesus answered, “Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’
“He which made them at the beginning - When Adam and Eve were the first of human kind. Made them male and female - Merely through the design of matrimonial union, that the earth might be thus peopled.”
and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’?
“For this cause - Being created for this very purpose; that they might glorify their Maker in a matrimonial connection.”
So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.”
“What therefore God hath joined together - Συνεζευξεν, yoked together, as oxen in the plough, where each must pull equally, in order to bring it on.”
Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because of your hardness of heart; but it was not this way from the beginning.
“Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts - It is dangerous to tolerate the least evil, though prudence itself may require it: because toleration, in this case, raises itself insensibly into permission, and permission soon sets up for command.”
His disciples said to Him, “If this is the case between a man and his wife, it is better not to marry.”
“If the case of the man - Του ανθρωπου, of a husband, so I think the word should be translated here.”
For there are eunuchs who were born that way; others were made that way by men; and still others live like eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven.
“Eunuchs - Ευνουχος, from ευνην εχειν, to have the care of the bed or bedchamber; this being the principal employment of eunuchs in the eastern countries, particularly in the apartments of queens and princesses.”
But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not hinder them! For the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”
“Of such is the kingdom of heaven - Or, the kingdom of heaven is composed of such. This appears to be the best sense of the passage, and utterly ruins the whole inhuman diabolic system of what is called non-elect infants’ damnation; a doctrine which…”
And after He had placed His hands on them, He went on from there.
“He - departed thence - That is, from that part of Judea which was beyond Jordan, Mat 19:1; and then went to Jericho. See Mat 20:29.”
Just then a man came up to Jesus and inquired, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to obtain eternal life?”
“One came - Instead of εις one, several MSS., the Slavonic version, and Hilary, read νεανισκος τις, a certain young man. Good, etc. - Much instruction may be had from seriously attending to the conduct, spirit, and question of this person. 1.”