KEN 



■before the (latutable period ; and likewife was tVie means of 

 obtaining for him a fellowdiip of Exeter college. \Vhc;i 

 he was of a fufficient ftanding, he took, the degree of M. A. 

 and about the fame period he was admitted to holy orders. 

 In the year 1753, he laid the foundation of his great work, 

 by publifhing " The State of the Hebrew Text of the Old 

 Teftament confidcred ; a Diflertation in two Parts, &c.'' 

 The defign of this publication was to overthrow the ftrange 

 notion which had long prevailed among divines concerning 

 what is called the integrity of the Hebrew text ; fit. that 

 the copies of it had been preferved abfolutely pure and vm- 

 corrupt. This notion had been thrown out and vindicated by 

 Capelhis, but thoitgh his arguments were fupported by the 

 authority of the Samaritan Pentateuch, that of parallel paf- 

 fages, and the ancient verfions, yet as he had no opportunity 

 of confulting MSS. he could never prove his point. This 

 talk was referved for Mr. Kennicott. His , differtation 

 proved that there were many Hebrew MSS. extant, which, 

 though they had hitherto been generally fuppofed to agree 

 with each other, and with the printed Hebrew text, yet 

 contained numerous and important various readings, and that 

 from thefe coiifiderablc authority was derived in fupport of 

 the ancient verfions. This work was examined with great 

 fevcrity, both at home and abroad : many excellent and 

 learned Chrillians imagined that it was opening wide a 

 door to infidelity, and that the caufe of their holy religion 

 would be much injured by it ; but by the generality of 

 learned and candid biblical fcholars, both natives and fo- 

 reigners, its value was juttly appreciated, and they were led 

 to form high expeftations of the author's future labours in 

 the fervice of facred criticifm. Mr. Kennicott fpent the 

 next threa or tour years principallv in fearching out and ex- 

 amining Hebrew MSS. In 1 751), he was prefented to the vi- 

 carage of Culham, in Oxfordllure, and in the following year 

 he pubhihedhis " State of the printed Hebrew Text of' the 

 Old Tellament conlidered." In this volume he vindicated 

 the authority and antiquity of the Samaritan copy of the 

 Pentateuch ; — proved that the prefent Chaldee paraphrafe 

 has not been taken from MSS. fo very ancient as has been 

 generally fuppofed, and that it has been, in fome cafes wilful- 

 ly, altered in conformity to the Hebrew text, where that text 

 itfelf had been corrupted ; — appealed to the fentiments of the 

 Jews themfelves on the fubjed of the Hebrew text, and gave 

 a hiftory of it from the clofe of the Hebrew canon, down to 

 the invention of printing, and prefented an account of all 

 the Hebrew MSS. then known, with a collation of eleven 

 Samaritan MSS , and a particular catalogue of 1 10 Hebrew 

 MSS. in Oxford, Cambridge, and the Britifh Mufeum Mr. 

 Kennicott how publifhed propofals for collating all the He- 

 brew MSS. prior to the invention of printing, that could be 

 found in Great Britain and Ireland, and for procuring as 

 many collations of foreign MSS. of note, as the time and 

 money he (hould receive would pcrr»ir. In this undertaking 

 he was fupported with the moll liberal fubfcriptions from 

 perfons of all parties, and of the very higheft ranks in fo- 

 ciety, and he bent his whole powers to complete the very 

 arduous undertaking. While he was proceeding in the work 

 he was appointed keeper of the Radclitfe library ; admitted 

 to the degree of dodor of divinity ; prefented to a living 

 in Cornwall, and rewarded by a canonry of Chrift-church, 

 Oxford. In the year 1776, Dr. Kennicott publilhed the 

 firfl volume of his Hebrew bible, and in the year 1780 the 

 fecond volume, which completed the defign, made its ap- 

 pearance. To the whole was prefixed a general dilfertation, 

 giving a full hillory of the nature of the defign, and of the 

 benefits likely to relult from it. The various readings whicli 

 are inferted in it are the refult of a collation of lix hundred 



KEN 



MSS. Such a work, and fo important to tlie beft intcreflJ 

 of mankind, refleCls very high honour on the country in 

 which it was firll patronized and carried into execution. 

 Within two years of his death, Dr. Kennicott refigncd his 

 living in Cornwall, from confcientious motives, on account 

 of his not havii.g a profpeft of ever again being able to vifit 

 his pari(h. No one, however, capable of appreciating the 

 doctor's labours, can doubt that they might properly have 

 entitled him to retain this preferment ; llill a conduft, fo 

 fignally difinterefted, deferves to be recorded and celebrated. 

 He died at Oxford on the i8th of September 17S3, at the 

 age of fixty-five. At the time of his death he was employed 

 in preparing for the prefs " Remarks on felect Paffaoes in 

 the Old Teftament," which were publilhed as a pollli' 



work, accompanied by eight fermons, partly critical and 

 partly praftical. In private fife, Dr. Kennicott fullained tlje 

 character of a liberal, worthy, and friendly man : in com- 

 pany he appeared unaffected, good tempered, and cheerful. 

 Encyc. Brit. Monthly Review, and New Ann. Regiller. 

 For a particular account of Dr. Kennicott's laudable un- 

 dertaking, fee the article Hcbre-iv Bibles. 



KENNINGTON, in Geography, an extenfive and popu- 

 lous hamlet, annexed to the parilh of Lambeth, Surry, 

 England. The manor formerly belonged to the duchy of 

 Cornwall, and was provided with a palace, which was occa- 

 fionally occupied by Edward the B ack prince, and Henries 

 IV., VI, and VII. On a common or open piece of ground 

 the convicted felons of Surry were formerly executed ; 

 around this fpot feveral rows of houfes and llreets have been 

 recently built : and Kennington may now be confidcred as 

 conilituting a part of tne Bntiih metropohs. Lyfons's Eu- 

 virons of London. 



KENNIS, in Bhgraphy, a performer on the violin, with 

 an uncommon power of execution. See Louvain and 



C.\RILLONS. 



KENNOMICK, Gri;.\t, in Geography, a navigable 

 river of America, in the N.W. territory, which empties 

 itfelf into the S. end of the lake Michigan, N. lat. 42 14'. 

 W. long. 86 52'. The waters of this river communicate, 

 by a portage of 30 yards, with Little Kennomick, a fhort 

 river which runs north-eallerly into this lake.. 



KENPOU, a river of Thibet, which runs into the San- 

 poo, in the kingdom of Ava. 



KENRICK, WiLLi.\M, in Biography, the fou of a 

 citizen of London, was brought up to a mechanical employ. 

 ment, which he foon abandoned, and devoted himfelf to the 

 cultivation of letters, by which he fupported hinife)f during 

 the remainder of life. He was fome time a iludent at Leyden, 

 and, upon his return to England, he appeared as a poet, in 

 " Epillles Philofophical and Moral. " He wrote an avowed 

 defence of infidelity while in prifon for debt, and with a 

 declaration, that he was lefs ambitious of the character of a 

 poet than of a philofopher. He was for a confiderahle time 

 a writer in the Monthly Review, but having a difagrcement 

 with Mr. Griffiths he began a new review of his own. He 

 publiflied, in a few days after the appearance of Dr. .Tohn- 

 fon's edition of Sliakfpeare, a review of it, " in which the 

 ignorance or inattention of that editor is expofed, and the 

 poet defended from the perfecution of his commentator.s, 

 I 76 J." In the year 1766, he produced a comedy, entitled 

 " Falftaff s Wedding," at firft intended to have been given 

 to the public as an original play of Shakfpeare, retrieved 

 from obfcurity ; and it was admitted to be a tolerably good 

 imitation of the great mailer of drama. Mr. Kei.rick was 

 continually involved in difputcs, many of which were not 

 creditable to his characler. He tranllated the Emilius and 

 Eloifa of RoufieaUj and MiUots Elements of the Hillury of 



England. 



