ilj4 OHental Literature; [Chap. XIV. 



professor of oriental languages In the imiverslty of 

 Parma, undertook a similar M'ork, wliicli he com- 

 pleted, and laid before the world in 178()^\ He 

 collated many manuscripts which Kennicot had 

 never seen, and added many important readings 

 to the former treasure. His work may, therefore, 

 be considered a very useful supplement to that of 

 his laborious predecessor. The same effect re- 

 sulted from this- publication as from that of Ken- 

 nicot. It tended to confirm the masoretical text, 

 and disappointed the hopes of those who wished 

 to unsettle or dishonour it f . Drs. Docderlein and 

 ^ieissner, of Germany, by selecting and publish- 

 ing, in a cheap and convenient form, the most im- 

 portant and useful of the various readings exhibit- 

 ed by Kennicot and de Rossi, produced a work 

 which does honour to themselv'es, and deserv^es to 



* Van'a Lcctlones Vcteris Testamenti, ex immensa JMSS. eiUtorum,' 

 >jU€ Codicum congcric hausfcc, ct ad Sa?}iar. Text urn ad icfustlss, rer- 

 siones, ad accuratiores S, Critica: fnntcs ac leges examinata, opere ac 

 studio Johan. Bern, de Rossi, S.T.P. et in li. Parmaisi Jcad. Lin^;. 

 Oil. Prof. torn. iv. The author speaks thus of his work, '* Pro- 

 duiitntur Jiic varice Lcctioncs V. T. ex inunensa MSS. editorumqite 

 codicum congerie, id est, ex milk quadringcntis sepfuaginta et a?7ipliu$ 

 mcri 'I'extus codicibus.'* 



f It is well known that in the common Hebrew Bibles there 

 arc remarks, or various readings, in the margin, called Kcri, to di- 

 stinguish them from the reading in the text, called Cltttib. The 

 litter is, in mniiy places, obscure and difficult of construction. 

 1 he Kcri is the Masoretical emendation, or different reading j and 

 of these there are in the Bible about one thousand. It is remark- 

 able that, of this number, nine hundred and eighty-six have been 

 found in the texts of different manuscripts, by the industr>' of Ken^ 

 niiut and dc Rossi. A result so honourable to the Masuritts could 

 scirccly have been expected. , 



