Noah Webster: The Man and His Dictionary

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Noah Webster: The Man and His Dictionary

Noah Webster was born October 16th, 1758. And he died May 28, 1843. He was born in West Hartford, Connecticut.

He's known as the "Father of American Scholarship and Education". This is because he spent twenty-one years learning twenty-six languages for his English dictionary. By the time he completed his dictionary, he was seventy years old.

Correctly defining words was important to him. Since Noah Webster was a Christian, he believed that God was the ultimate Authority. Therefore, it was especially important to him to correctly define words by the definitions contained in the Bible. Some of the languages he learned were Anglo-Saxon, Greek, Hebrew, and Latin.

As already mentioned, Noah Webster was a Christian. And he's know for this quote:

"Education is useless without the Bible."

As a testimony to his Christian faith, his dictionary contains over six thousand Bible references. In this way, he gave proof for the authority of God's Word about those specific words.

Not all words, but several words in today's modern dictionary conflict with a Biblical worldview. So, it's important for Christians to use Webster's 1828 Dictionary. Otherwise, we may become confused and possibly remain ignorant about what God has to say about important matters.

Additionally, Noah Webster thought that some of the English spelling rules were unnecessarily complicated. Therefore, he simplified the spelling. For example, Webster's1828Dictionary.com explains:

"As a spelling reformer, Webster believed that English spelling rules were unnecessarily complex, so his dictionary introduced American English spellings, replacing colour with color, substituting wagon for waggon, and printing center instead of centre. He also added American words, like skunk and squash, that did not appear in British dictionaries."

So, you have Noah Webster to thank for simplifying the spelling of many words. But seriously, even though English can be given a bad reputation for its many spelling rules, our language is very rich with descriptive beauty because of the several languages it pulls from.

Word are wonderful! Have you ever thought about how they're everywhere? While they help us to communicate clearly, we need to be well learned so that we can also understand what others want to communicate.

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This is especially true for our nation as laws are written. If citizens are careful to read and define the language in laws for us to vote on, we can better reason Biblically as to whether or not it is a law to benefit us. Your future, your possible children's future, and all future generations depend heavily upon this. Not solely, but heavily.

It may be obvious, but how many of us gift if much thought to the wisdom of words? God... in His wisdom, designed language. In fact, I propose that words are a part of His very nature and essence. Consider that He spoke the world into existence. Beyond that, He created mankind in His image. And as a part of that image bearing we speak words, too.

To say nothing of the fact that language is to be a blessing and a tool for liberty. Our Founding Fathers and Noah Webster recognized these truths.

Historical Resource: Webster's1828Dictionary.com

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Noah Webster: The Man and His Dictionary

Noah Webster was born: ______

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What is Noah Webster know as? ______

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How long did it take him to compile his dictionary?______

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How many languages did he learn in order to compile his dictionary?______

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Why did Noah Webster define words by the authority of the Bible?______

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Why is it important that Noah Webster learned Geek, Hebrew, and Latin?______

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What do you think Noah Webster meant by, "Education is useless without the Bible"? What are some examples you can give?

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Why do you think it's important that Noah Webster referenced the Bible with definitions of words that he included in the dictionary?

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Compare and Contrast the word sin using Webster's 1828 Dictionary and a modern dictionary:

Webster's 1828 Dictionary Modern Dictionary ______

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Compare and Contrast the word faith using Webster's 1828 Dictionary and a modern

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Compare and Contrast the word law using Webster's 1828 Dictionary and a modern dictionary:

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Compare and Contrast the word marriage using Webster's 1828 Dictionary and a modern dictionary:

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Explain why you think it's important for American citizens to learn correct definitions of words.

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Where does language originate from?

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Did God create language or is a part of Who He is? Explain your answer. ______

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What did our Founding Fathers and Noah Webster recognize about language? ______

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How are you inspired by Noah Webster's contribution on the Christian History Timeline?

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How does this study inspire you as an American citizen?

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