Adam Clarke was a British Methodist preacher, administrator and scholar whose multi-volume Bible commentary became one of the major reference works of nineteenth-century Methodism. He was largely self-educated and developed wide interests in biblical languages, ancient literature, history and manuscripts.
Clarke served the Wesleyan Methodist movement in preaching and leadership while spending decades on his commentary. His notes often move from grammar and ancient custom to theology and pastoral application, and they preserve a distinctly Wesleyan theological voice.
Because Clarke wrote before many modern archaeological discoveries and before today’s critical editions of the biblical texts, some conclusions are dated. Yet his work remains valuable for the history of interpretation and for its enormous range of observations.
We include Clarke beside Reformed, patristic and other historical sources so readers can compare traditions rather than mistake a single commentator for “what Christianity says.”