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
so that you may be able to test and prove what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ,
“That ye may approve things that are excellent - Εις το δοκιμαζειν ὑμας τα διαφεροντα· To the end that ye may put to proof the things that differ, or the things that are in are more profitable.”
Now I want you to know, brothers, that my circumstances have actually served to advance the gospel.
“That the things which happened unto me - St. Paul was at this time a prisoner at Rome, and it appears probable that he had already been called to make a defense for himself, and to vindicate the doctrines of the Gospel; and this he…”
And most of the brothers, confident in the Lord by my chains, now dare more greatly to speak the word without fear.
“Waxing confident - Finding the effect produced by the public defense which the apostle made, they were greatly encouraged, and the more boldly and openly proclaimed the doctrine of Christ crucified. The word - The doctrine of Christ; several excellent MSS.”
The latter do so in love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel.
“Preach Christ of contention - The Judaizing teachers, they also preach Christ; they acknowledge that Jesus is the Christ or promised Messiah, and preach him as such.”
But if I go on living in the body, this will mean fruitful labor for me. So what shall I choose? I do not know.
“But if I live in the flesh - Should I be spared longer, I shall labor for Christ as I have done; and this is the fruit of my labor, that Christ shall be magnified by my longer life, Php 1:20.”
without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a clear sign of their destruction but of your salvation, and it is from God.
“In nothing terrified by your adversaries - So it appears that the Church at Philippi was then under persecution. Which is to them - Ἡτις αυτοις εστιν.”
since you are encountering the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have.
“Having the same conflict - When Paul preached the Gospel at Philippi he was grievously persecuted, as we learn from Acts 16:19-40, being stripped, scourged, thrown into prison, even into the dungeon, and his feet made fast in the stocks.”
Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.
“Look not every man on his own things - Do nothing through self-interest in the things of God; nor arrogate to yourselves gifts, graces, and fruits, which belong to others; ye are all called to promote God’s glory and the salvation of men.”
And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross.
“And being found in fashion as a man - Και σχηματι εὑρεθεις ὡς ανθρωπος. This clause should be joined to the preceding, and thus translated: Being made in the likeness of man, and was found in fashion as a man.”
as you hold forth the word of life, in order that I may boast on the day of Christ that I did not run or labor in vain.
“Holding forth the word of life - An allusion, some think, to those towers which were built at the entrance of harbours, on which fires were kept during the night to direct ships into the port.”
I have nobody else like him who will genuinely care for your needs.
“For I have no man like-minded - None of all my fellow helpers in the Gospel have the same zeal and affectionate concern for your prosperity in every respect as he has. He is ισοψυχος· of the same soul; a man after my own heart.”
But you know Timothy’s proven worth, that as a child with his father he has served with me to advance the gospel.
“Ye know the proof of him, that, as a son with the father, he hath served with me - The Philippians had full proof of the affectionate attachment of Timothy to Paul, for he had labored with him there, as we learn from Act 16:1-3…”
Therefore I am all the more eager to send him, so that when you see him again you may rejoice, and I may be less anxious.
“The more carefully - Σπουδαιοτερως· With the more haste or despatch; because, having suffered so much on account of his apprehended death, they could not be too soon comforted by seeing him alive and restored.”
because he nearly died for the work of Christ, risking his life to make up for your deficit of service to me.
“For the work of Christ - Preaching the Gospel, and ministering to the distressed. He was nigh unto death - Having labored far beyond his strength.”
as to zeal, persecuting the church; as to righteousness in the law, faultless.
“Concerning zeal - As to my zeal for Pharisaism, I gave the fullest proof of it by persecuting the Church of Christ; and this is known to all my countrymen.”
More than that, I count all things as loss compared to the surpassing excellence of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have lost all things.
“I count all things but loss - Not only my Jewish privileges, but all others of every kind; with every thing that men count valuable or gainful, or on which they usually depend for salvation.”
I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to Him in His death,
“That I may know him - To be the true and promised Messiah, and experience all that salvation which he has bought by his blood.”
Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of…
“Not as though I had already attained - Ουχ ὁτι ηδη ελαβον· For I have not yet received the prize; I am not glorified, for I have not finished my course; and I have a conflict still to maintain, and the issue will prove whether…”
I press on toward the goal to win the prize of God’s heavenly calling in Christ Jesus.
“I press toward the mark - Κατα σκοπον διωκω· I pursue along the line; this is a reference to the white line that marked the ground in the stadium, from the starting place to the goal, on which the runners were obliged to keep their…”
Nevertheless, we must live up to what we have already attained.
“Whereto we have already attained - Let us not lose that part of the race which we have already run, let us walk by the same rule - let us keep the white line continually in view, let us mind the same thing, always considering…”
For as I have often told you before, and now say again even with tears: Many live as enemies of the cross of Christ.
“For many walk, etc - The Judaizing teachers continue to preach, who wish to incorporate circumcision, and other ordinances of the law, with the Gospel.”
But our citizenship is in heaven, and we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,
“Our conversation is in heaven - Ἡμως - το πολιτευμα· Our city, or citizenship, or civil rights. The word properly signifies the administration, government, or form of a republic or state; and is thus used by Demosthenes, page 107, 25, and 262, 27. Edit. Reiske.”
I urge Euodia and Syntyche to agree with each other in the Lord.
“I beseech Euodias, and beseech Syntyche - These were two pious women, as it is generally supposed, who were deaconesses in the Church at Philippi, and who in some points of doctrine and discipline had disagreed.”
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
“Rejoice in the Lord alway - Be continually happy; but this happiness you can find only in the Lord. Genuine happiness is spiritual; as it can only come from God, so it infallibly tends to him.”
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
“Be careful for nothing - Μηδεν μεριμνατε· Be not anxiously solicitous; do not give place to carking care, let what will occur; for anxiety cannot chance the state or condition of any thing from bad to good, but will infallibly injure your own souls.”