Samuel Morse quoted Bible in first telegraph message
The telegraph was developed in the mid-19th century and remained the principal means of transmitting printed information by wire or radio wave for more than a century.
“What hath God wrought,” a phrase in the Bible, gained historical recognition when it was used by Samuel F. B. Morse as the first public message sent by telegraph in the United States on May 24, 1844.
The phrase from the Bible’s Numbers 23:23 is used to express awe and gratitude for the remarkable things God has done for His people. “What hath God wrought” has since been used to express wonder and marvel at significant events and advancements. In some easier to understand translations, the phrase is “What great things God has done!” or “See what God has done!”
The term "telegraph" is derived from the Greek words tele, meaning "distant," and graphein, meaning "to write," and it was first used to describe an optical semaphore system developed in France at the end of the 18th century.
The development of the electric telegraph was made possible by several key technological advancements. One of these was the invention of the voltaic cell in 1800, by Alessandro Volta of Italy. In 1825, William Sturgeon discovered the multiturn electromagnet, and in 1831, Michael Faraday of Britain and Joseph Henry of the United States refined the science of electromagnetism sufficiently to make it possible to design practical electromagnetic devices.
Inventor Samuel F. B. Morse, who is also known for his portrait and landscape paintings, developed an electric telegraph between 1832 and 1835, followed by the development of the Morse Code in 1838, by Morse and his friend, Alfred Vail.
Morse’s historic first public message via telegraph in 1844 was sent from the Supreme Court chamber in Washington, DC to the railroad station in Baltimore.
There is no magic curse against Jacob
and no divination against Israel.
It will now be said about Jacob and Israel,
“What great things God has done!”
Numbers 23:23 CSB