Word Study Wednesday ~ History

Using Webster's 1828 Dictionary in 2 Volumes.
Step I: Find Key Words
HIS'TORY, noun.
   [Greek ιστορία; Latin Spanish Portuguese historia; Italian istoria; French histoire; Irish sdair, stair; Saxon stair, ster, probably from the Latin; Welsh ysdori, history, matter of record, what is of concern or in mind, from ysdawr, an object of care or concern, from dawr, to care, to he concerned, to regard. The Greek ισορ signifies knowing, learned, and ισορεω is rendered to inquire, to explore, to learn by inspection or inquiry. This would seem to be connected with Welsh ystyriaw, to consider, to regard or take notice. History and story are the same word differently written.]

1. An account of facts, particularly of facts respecting nations or states; a narration of events in the order in which they happened, with their causes and effects. History differs from annals. Annals relate simply the facts and events of each year, in strict chronological order, without any observations of the annalist. History regards less strictly the arrangement of events under each year, and admits the observations of the writer. This distinction however is not always regarded with strictness.
    History is of different kinds, or treats of different subjects; as a history of government, or political history; history of the christian church, or ecclesiastical history; history of war and conquests, or military history; history of law; history of commerce; historyof the crusades, &c. In these and similar examples, history is written narrative or relation. What is the historyof nations, but a narrative of the follies, crimes and miseries of man?
2. Narration; verbal relation of facts or events; story. We listen with pleasure to the soldier or the seaman, giving a historyof his adventures.
   What histories of toil could I declare?          Pope.
3. Knowledge of facts and events.
   History—is necessary to divines.                       Watts.
4. Description; an account of things that exist; as natural history, which comprehends a description of the works of nature, particularly of animals, plants and minerals; a history of animals, or zoology; a history of plants.
5. An account of the origin, life and actions of an individual person. We say, we have a concise history of the prisoner in the testimony offered to the court. A formal written account of an individual's life, is called biography.

Step II: Define Key Words
ACCOUNT', noun.
  [French conte; Italian conto; Spanish cuenta; Armoric count; an account, reckoning, computation. Formerly writers used accompt from the French compte. See Count.]

4. Narrative; relation; statement of facts; recital of particular transactions and events, verbal or written; as an account of the revolution in France. Hence, 
5. An assigmnent of reasons; explanation by a recital of particular transactions, given by a person in an employment, or to a superior, often implying responsibility.
    Give an account of thy stewardship. Luke, xvi.

     Without responsibility or obligation.

     He giveth not account of his matters. Job, xxxiii.

FACT, noun.
   [Latin factum, from facio, to make or do; French fait; Italian fatto; Spanish hecho.]

1. Any thing done, or that comes to pass; an act; a deed; an effect produced or achieved; an event. Witnesses are introduced into court to prove a fact. Facts are stubborn things. To deny a fact knowingly is to lie.
2. Reality; truth; as, in fact. So we say, indeed.

NARRA'TION, noun.
   [Latin narratio.]

1. The act of telling or relating the particulars of an event; rehearsal; recital.
2. Relation; story; history; the relation in words or writing, of the particulars of any transaction or event, or of any series of transactions or events.

EVENT', noun.
   [Latin eventus, evenio; e and venio, to come; French evenement; Italian and Spanish evento.]

1. That which comes, arrives or happens; that which falls out; any incident good or bad.
   There is one event to the righteous and to the wicked. Ecclesiastes ix.

Step III: Scripture References

from www.biblegateway.com

I could not find any direct references to the word "history", but I found the following passages that mention learning about the past.

Psalm 78:2-7

King James Version (KJV)

² I will open my mouth in a parable: I will utter dark sayings of old:
³ Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us.
⁴ We will not hide them from their children, shewing to the generation to come the praises of theLord, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done.
⁵ For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children:
⁶ That the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born; who should arise and declare them to their children:
⁷ That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments:

Deuteronomy 32:7-9

King James Version (KJV)

⁷ Remember the days of old, consider the years of many generations: ask thy father, and he will shew thee; thy elders, and they will tell thee.
⁸ When the Most High divided to the nations their inheritance, when he separated the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according to the number of the children of Israel.
⁹ For the Lord's portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance.

Psalm 44:1-3

King James Version (KJV)

44 We have heard with our ears, O God, our fathers have told us, what work thou didst in their days, in the times of old.

² How thou didst drive out the heathen with thy hand, and plantedst them; how thou didst afflict the people, and cast them out.
³ For they got not the land in possession by their own sword, neither did their own arm save them: but thy right hand, and thine arm, and the light of thy countenance, because thou hadst a favour unto them.

The following passage shows how God has control of our past:

Daniel 2:20-23

King James Version (KJV)

²⁰ Daniel answered and said, Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever: for wisdom and might are his:
²¹ And he changeth the times and the seasons: he removeth kings, and setteth up kings: he giveth wisdom unto the wise, and knowledge to them that know understanding:
²² He revealeth the deep and secret things: he knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth with him.
²³ I thank thee, and praise thee, O thou God of my fathers, who hast given me wisdom and might, and hast made known unto me now what we desired of thee: for thou hast now made known unto us the king's matter.

Acts 17:26

King James Version (KJV)

²⁶ And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;

In the following passage Luke mentions how in the past history has been recorded, and now how he is going to follow that example and record the happenings during his lifetime:

Luke 1:1-4

King James Version (KJV)

1 Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us,

² Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word;
³ It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus,
⁴ That thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed.

Step IV:
I have replaced the key words with their definitions (in red and underlined) and any other changes have been done in red.

HIS'TORY, noun.
  A narrative of anything done, or that comes to pass, particularly of  anything done, or that comes to pass  respecting nations or states; an act of telling or relating the particulars of any incident good or bad in the order in which it happened, with its causes and effects.

Personal Definition
   History is the narrative of anything that has happened, from the view point of the narrator, in the order that it occurred with its causes and effects.