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
May this water that brings a curse enter your stomach and cause your belly to swell and your thigh to shrivel.’ Then the woman is to say, ‘Amen, Amen.’
“Thy belly to swell, and thy thigh to rot - What is meant by these expressions cannot be easily ascertained. לנפל ירך lanpel yarech signifies literally thy thigh to fall.”
And the priest shall write these curses on a scroll and wash them off into the bitter water.
“The priest shall write these curses - and he shall blot them out - It appears that the curses which were written down with a kind of ink prepared for the purpose, as some of the rabbins think, without any calx of iron or other…”
He is to have the woman drink the bitter water that brings a curse, and it will enter her and cause her bitter suffering.
“The bitter water that causeth the curse - Though the rabbins think that the priest put some bitter substance in the water, yet as nothing of the kind is intimated by Moses, we may consider the word as used here metaphorically for affliction, death, etc.”
This is the law of jealousy when a wife goes astray and defiles herself while under her husband’s authority,
“This is the law of jealousies - And this is the most singular law in the whole Pentateuch: a law that seems to have been copied by almost all the nations of the earth, whether civilized or barbarian, as we find that similar modes of…”
“Speak to the Israelites and tell them that if a man or woman makes a special vow, the vow of a Nazirite, to separate himself to the LORD,
“When either man or woman shall separate, etc. - The word נזיר nazir, from נזר nazar, to separate, signifies merely a separated person, i. e., one peculiarly devoted to the service of God by being separated from all servile employments.”
he is to abstain from wine and strong drink. He must not drink vinegar made from wine or strong drink, and he must not drink any grape juice or eat…
“No vinegar of wine, etc. - חמץ chomets signifies fermented wine, and is probably used here to signify wine of a strong body, or any highly intoxicating liquor. Dr.”
For the entire period of his vow of separation, no razor shall pass over his head.
“There shall no razor come upon his head - The vow of the Nazarite consisted in the following particulars: - 1. He consecrated himself in a very especial and extraordinary manner to God. 2.”
Even if his father or mother or brother or sister should die, he is not to defile himself, because the crown of consecration to his God is upon his head.
“The consecration of his God is upon his head - Literally, The separation of his God is upon his head; meaning his hair, which was the proof and emblem of his separation.”
Then at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting, the Nazirite is to shave his consecrated head, take the hair, and put it on the fire under the peace offering.
“Shall take the hair - and put it in the fire - The hair was permitted to grow for this purpose; and as the Nazarite was a kind of sacrifice, offered to God through the whole term of his nazarate or separation, and no human…”
This is the law of the Nazirite who vows his offering to the LORD for his separation, in addition to whatever else he can afford; he must fulfill whatever vow…
“This is the law of the Nazarite - We learn from Maimonides, in his Treatise of the Nazarite, that a man might become a Nazarite in behalf of another; that is, might assist him in bearing the expenses of the sacrifices, etc.”
‘May the LORD bless you and keep you;
“The Lord bless thee - There are three forms of blessing here, any or all of which the priests might use on any occasion. The following is a verbal translation: - 1. May Jehovah bless thee and preserve thee! 2.”
and he gave the Merarites four carts and eight oxen, as their service required, all under the direction of Ithamar son of Aaron the priest.
“Four wagons - unto the sons of Merari - Because they had the boards, bars, pillars, and sockets of the tabernacle to carry, Num 4:31, Num 4:32, therefore they had as many more wagons as the Gershonites.”
But he did not give any to the Kohathites, since they were to carry on their shoulders the holy objects for which they were responsible.
“Unto the sons of Kohath he gave none - Because they had the charge of the ark, table, candlestick, altars, etc., Num 4:5-15, which were to be carried upon their shoulders; for those sacred things must not be drawn by beasts.”
His offering was one silver platter weighing a hundred and thirty shekels, and one silver bowl weighing seventy shekels, both according to the sanctuary shekel and filled with fine flour…
“One silver charger - קערת kaarath, a dish, or deep bowl, in which they kneaded the paste. See Exo 25:29. One silver bowl - מזרק mizrak, a bason, to receive the blood of the sacrifice in. See on Exo 27:3 (note).”
On the seventh day Elishama son of Ammihud, the leader of the Ephraimites, drew near.
“On the seventh day - Both Jewish and Christian writers have been surprised that this work of offering went forward on the seventh day, which they suppose to have been a Sabbath, as well as on the other days. But 1.”
On the eleventh day Pagiel son of Ocran, the leader of the Asherites, drew near.
“On the eleventh day - The Hebrew form of expression, here and in the 78th verse, has something curious in it.”
This is how the lampstand was constructed: it was made of hammered gold from its base to its blossoms, fashioned according to the pattern the LORD had shown Moses.
“This work of the candlestick, etc. - See many curious particulars relative to this candlestick, See the note on Exo 25:31 and Exo 25:39 (note).”
This is what you must do to cleanse them: Sprinkle them with the water of purification. Have them shave their whole bodies and wash their clothes, and so purify themselves.
“Sprinkle water of purifying - מי חטאת mey chattath, water of sin, or water of the sin-offering. As this purifying water was made by the ashes of the red heifer, cedar-wood, hyssop, and scarlet; and the heifer herself was sacrificed, and her blood sprinkled seven…”
You are to present the Levites before the LORD and have the Israelites lay their hands upon them.
“Shall put their hands upon the Levites - It has been argued from this that the congregation had a part in the appointment of their own ministers, and that this was done by the imposition of hands.”
The Levites purified themselves and washed their clothes, and Aaron presented them as a wave offering before the LORD. Aaron also made atonement for them to cleanse them.
“And Aaron made an atonement for them - Though the Levites had been most solemnly consecrated to the Lord’s service, and though all legal washings and purifications were duly performed on the occasion, yet they could not approach God till an atonement had been made…”
“This applies to the Levites: Men twenty-five years of age or older shall enter to perform the service in the work at the Tent of Meeting.
“From twenty and five years old - See the note on Num 4:3, where the two terms of twenty-five and thirty years are reconciled.”
After that, they may assist their brothers in fulfilling their duties at the Tent of Meeting, but they themselves are not to do the work.
“To keep the charge, and shall do no service - They shall no longer be obliged to perform any laborious service, but act as general directors and counsellors; therefore they were to be near the camp, sing praises to God, and see that no stranger…”
and said to Moses, “We are unclean because of a dead body, but why should we be excluded from presenting the LORD’s offering with the other Israelites at the appointed…
“We are defiled by the dead body of a man - It is probable that the defilement mentioned here was occasioned by assisting at the burial of some person - a work both of necessity and mercy.”
Sometimes the cloud remained only from evening until morning, and when it lifted in the morning, they would set out.
“Whether - by day or by night - As the heat of the day is very severe in that same desert, the night season is sometimes chosen for the performance of a journey; though it is very likely that in the case of the Israelites…”
They camped at the LORD’s command, and they set out at the LORD’s command; they carried out the LORD’s charge according to His command through Moses.
“Kept the charge of the Lord - When we consider the strong disposition which this people ever testified to follow their own will in all things, we may be well surprised to find them, in these journeyings, so implicitly following the directions of God.”