Sect. I. j Ilebrav Ijteratiuw o:,.^ 



the workl *. Every lover of oriciiuii iiuiaUin: 

 must, tccl Ijiin^elf uiuk'r deep ohiin-atioas to this 

 great eolhitor, not only for the hght wliieh his in- 

 defatigable hibour threw on the sacred scriptures, 

 but also for tliat taste and zeal in Helirew litera- 

 ture, and particularly in biblical criticism, whicli 

 his example evidently and remarkably revived in 

 Great Britain f . 



When Dr. Kennicot began his celebrated work, 

 he entertained an opinion decidedly opposed to 

 the integrity of the common Hebrew text of the 

 Bible. But, though there is no reason to suj)posG 

 that he altered his opinion afterwards ; yet his la- 

 bours certainly produced a conviction in the minds 

 of discerning and impartial men, entirely contrary 

 to what he expected. They confirmed rather than 

 destroyed the general confidence in the niasoreti- 

 calreadino-; and instead of subservini** the cause 

 of infidelity or heresy, by unsettling the sacred 

 text, as the Hutchbisoniaus and some others had 

 predicted, their influence was directly of an oppo- 

 site kind. 



Encourao-ed bv tlie success of Dr. Kennicot, 

 and influenced, also, by the circumstance of his 

 having a convenient and easy access to the Am- 

 brosian library of Milan, John Bernard de Rossi, 



^- Vdiii^ Testament urn Hcbraicum cum xar'iis Ltctinmhu». FJidd 

 Benj. Kennicot, S.T. P. Oxonii. 1776, 178O. 2 vols., folio. 



f It is certain that since the pubhcation of Kennicot's work 

 the study of Hebrew has remarkably revived in Great Britain j in 

 which, at. the close of the eighteenth century, it is probable tiiere 

 was a greater iumibor of Hebrew scholars tlian at .in> fouiicr 

 period. 



