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
She said to herself, “If only I touch His cloak, I will be healed.”
“She said within herself, If I may but touch his garment - Her disorder was of that delicate nature that modesty forbade her to make any public acknowledgment of it; and therefore she endeavored to transact the whole business in private.”
Jesus turned and saw her. “Take courage, daughter,” He said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was cured from that very hour.
“Daughter, be of good comfort - Θαρσει θυγατερ, Take courage, daughter. See on Mat 9:2 (note). The reason of this kind speech was - Jesus, finding that virtue had proceeded from him; made inquiry who had touched him.”
When Jesus entered the house of the synagogue leader, He saw the flute players and the noisy crowd.
“Saw the minstrels and the people making a noise - Αυλητας, pipers; Anglo-Saxon the whistlers; Gothic, haurngans haurngandans, the horn-blowers blowing with their horns.”
“Go away,” He told them. “The girl is not dead, but asleep.” And they laughed at Him.
“The maid is not dead, but sleepeth - That is, she is not dead so as to continue under the power of death; but shall be raised from it as a, person is from natural sleep.”
After the crowd had been put outside, Jesus went in and took the girl by the hand, and she got up.
“He - took her by the hand, and the maid arose - The fountain of life thus communicating its vital energy to the dead body.”
And the news about this spread throughout that region.
“And the fame hereof went abroad - In this business Jesus himself scarcely appears, but the work effected by his sovereign power is fully manifested; to teach us that it is the business of a successful preacher of the Gospel to conceal himself as much…”
After Jesus had entered the house, the blind men came to Him. “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” He asked. “Yes, Lord,” they answered.
“When he was come unto the house - That is, the house of Peter at Capernaum, where he ordinarily lodged. Believe ye that I am able to do this?”
And their eyes were opened. Jesus warned them sternly, “See that no one finds out about this!”
“Straitly charged them - He charged them severely, from ενεβριμησατο, from εν, and βριμαομαι, to roar or storm with anger; he charged them, on pain of his displeasure, not to make it as yet public. See the reasons, Mat 8:4.”
As they were leaving, a demon-possessed man who was mute was brought to Jesus.
“A dumb man possessed with a devil - Some demons rendered the persons they possessed paralytic, some blind, others dumb, etc. It was the interest of Satan to hide his influences under the appearance of natural disorders.”
But the Pharisees said, “It is by the prince of demons that He drives out demons.”
“He casteth out devils through the prince of the devils - This verse is wanting in both the Greek and Latin of the C. Bezae, in another copy of the Itala, and in Hilary and Juvencus. But see on Mat 12:24 (note).”
When He saw the crowds, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
“Moved with compassion - Εσπλαγχνισθη, from σπλαγχνον, a bowel. The Jews esteemed the bowels to be the seat of sympathy and the tender passions, and so applied the organ to the sense.”
Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest.”
“That he will send forth laborers - Οπως εκβαλλη εργατας, that he would thrust forth laborers. Those who are fittest for the work are generally most backward to the employment.”
These are the names of the twelve apostles: first Simon, called Peter, and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John;
“Apostles - This is the first place where the word is used. ΑποϚολος, an apostle, comes from αποϚελλω, I send a message.”
Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus.
“Simon - He was third son of Alpheus, and brother of James and Jude, or Judas, Mat 13:55. The Canaanite - This word is not put here to signify a particular people, as it is elsewhere used in the Sacred Writings; but it is formed…”
Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel.
“But go rather to the lost sheep, etc. - The Jewish Church was the ancient fold of God; but the sheep had wandered from their Shepherd, and were lost.”
Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.
“Raise the dead - This is wanting in the MSS. marked EKLMS of Griesbach, and in those marked BHV of Mathai, and in upwards of one hundred others.”
Take no bag for the road, or second tunic, or sandals, or staff; for the worker is worthy of his provisions.
“Nor scrip for your journey - To carry provisions. This was called תורמיל tormil, by the rabbins; it was a leathern pouch hung about their necks, in which they put their victuals. This was properly, the shepherd’s bag. Neither two coats, etc.”
Whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy there and stay at his house until you move on.
“Into whatsoever city or town ye shall enter - In the commencement of Christianity, Christ and his preachers were all itinerant.”
As you enter the home, greet its occupants.
“Salute it - Λεγουτες, ειρηνη εν τω οικω τουτω, saying, “Peace be to this house.” This clause, which, as explanatory of the word ασπασασθε, is necessary to the connection in which it now stands, is added, by the MSS.”
If the home is worthy, let your peace rest on it; but if it is not, let your peace return to you.
“If that house be worthy - If that family be proper for a preacher to lodge in, and the master be ready to embrace the message of salvation.”
And if anyone will not welcome you or heed your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town.
“Shake off the dust of your feet - The Jews considered themselves defiled by the dust of a heathen country, when was represented by the prophets as a polluted laud, Amo 7:17, when compared with the land of Israel, which was considered as a holy…”
Truly I tell you, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.
“In the day of judgment - Or, punishment, - κρισεως. Perhaps not meaning the day of general judgment, nor the day of the destruction of the Jewish state by the Romans; but a day in which God should send punishment on that particular city, or…”
Behold, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves; therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.
“Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves - He who is called to preach the Gospel is called to embrace a state of constant labor, and frequent suffering.”
On My account, you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles.
“Ye shall be brought before governors, etc. - “This affords a striking proof of the prescience of Christ. Who could have thought, at that time, that these despised and illiterate men could excite so much attention, and be called upon to apologize for the profession…”
For it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.
“For it is - the Spirit of your Father, etc. - This was an extraordinary promise, and was literally fulfilled to those first preachers of the Gospel; and to them it was essentially necessary, because the New Testament dispensation was to be fully opened by…”