David Norton

Noah Webster's 1833 Bible

AbstractNoah Websters enduring fame is as a lexicographer, but his last major work, a revision of the King James Bible (KJB), is one of the few versions of the Bible published between 16n and 1885 (when the Revised Version Old Testament and New Testament appeared) not to have sunk into total oblivion. Websters Bible is a light revision in that for the most part it reads like the KJB; indeed, it is probably too light. Webster did not always revise where he probably should have. Moreover, his work is inconsistent, demonstrating both a failure to work thoroughly and the great difficulty of making the kind of judgements he set out to make. Such conclusions, however, do not make his work valueless. Websters Bible is significant both because it is American and because it is by Noah Webster. It provides an excellent source for the historical evaluation of the KJBs English. Indeed, the greatest value of his work lies in the quality of the criticism of the language of the KJB and the consequences this (rather ...