Biblical Definitions Restored
Noah Webster’s 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language was produced during the years when the American home, church and school were established upon a Biblical and patriotic basis. Webster, descended on his mother’s side from Pilgrim Governor, William Bradford's History Of Plimoth Plantation, made important contributions to an American educational system which kept the nation on a Christian Constitutional course for many years. The famous Blue-Backed Speller, his Grammars, and Reader, all contained Biblical and patriotic themes and Webster spearheaded the flood of educational volumes emphasizing Christian Constitutional values for more than a century. It is not surprising, therefore, that the 1828 Dictionary should contain the greatest number of Biblical definitions given in any reference volume. Webster considered "education useless without the Bible,” and while he cautioned against too extensive use of the Bible in schools as "tending to irreverence,” he reiterated, "In my view, the Christian religion is the most important and one of the first things in which all children, under a free government, ought to be instructed… No truth is more evident to my mind than that the Christian religion must be the basis of any government intended to secure the rights and privileges of a free people…”Today when the Biblical basis of education is under systematic attack we need to capitalize upon the availability of our first American Dictionary—the only dictionary in the world to "draw water out of the wells of salvation”—to utilize God’s written word as a key to the meaning of words. Historically, it documents the degree to which the Bible was America’s basic text book in all fields.
Two Dictionaries. Two Definitions.
Which Dictionary is on Your Shelf?
1828 Noah Webster's American Dictionary
of the English Language
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1981 Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary
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| Marriage |
The act of uniting a man and woman for life… Marriage was instituted by God himself…
"Marriage is honorable in all…" Heb. 13 |
…man and woman are joined in a special kind of social and legal dependence for the purpose of founding and maintaining a family… an intimate or close union |
| Education |
| Education comprehends… instruction and discipline intended to enlighten the under-standing, correct the temper, and form the manners and habits of youth, and fit them for usefulness in their future stations. To give them a religious education is indispensable. |
The action or process of [developing mentally or morally]
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| Mercy |
That benevolence, mildness or tenderness which disposes a person… to treat an offender better than he deserves.
"The Lord is long-suffering and of great mercy." Num.14
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Compassion or forbearance shown especially to an offender or to one subject to one's power… an act of divine favor or compassion… a fortunate circumstance |
| Truth |
Conformity to fact or reality… We rely on the truth of scriptural prophecies.
"Sanctify them through thy truth…" John 17 |
Sincerity in action, character, and utterance… the body of real thing… a judgment… that is true or accepted as true. |
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