658 K K N N 
the third Chapter of the-Revelations, 8vo. 1706. So 
■much was lie reflected in the univerlify, that it was 
with fome reluflance he complied with his brother’s foil- 
citation in accepting the place of chaplain to the Eng¬ 
lish factory at Leghorn. He entered upon that office in 
1707, and conducted himfelf with fo much prudence and 
•propriety, that he acquired univerfal elteem, even from 
the catholics, who had ufed their utmofl endeavours to 
prevent his officiating in that capacity. After feeing a 
Ihcceffor edablilhed in the privilege which he had himfelf 
fteadily exercifed while it was yet of dubious right, he re¬ 
turned to Oxford in 1713, .find in the next year he was 
defied prefident of his college, and created D.D. A de¬ 
clining Slate of health which he brought with him from 
Italy, terminated his life before the clofe of 1714.. He had 
prepared for the prelii a volume of “Sermons on feveral 
Occafions, preached before a Society of Britilh Merchants 
in Foreign Parts,” which was publilhed in 1715. Dr. 
Kennett befides gave tranllations of feveral modern works 
in Latin and French. Biog. Brit. 
KEN'NICOTT (Benjamin), a learned Englilli divine 
and orien’talift, to whom the learned world is indebted for 
a moll elaborate and valuable edition of the Hebrew Bible, 
was born at Totnefs, in Devonlliire, in the year 1718. 
His father was the parish-clerk of that town, and was once 
mailer of a charity-fchool in the fame place. To this em¬ 
ployment young Kennicott fucceeded at an early age, 
being recommended to it by iiis fobriety of manners, and 
acquirements in knowledge not common at fuch a period 
of life. While he was in this fituation, in the year 1743, 
he wrote fome verfes on the recovery of the Hon. Mrs. 
Elizabeth Courtenay from her late dangerous illnefs, 
which, if they cannot be faid to poffefs any high poetical 
merit, difcover talents deferving better cultivation than 
his humble fphere could afford ; of this the lady to whom 
they were addreffed was fully fenfible, as were feveral of the 
neighbouring gentry and clergy, who generoufly opened 
a fubfcription, in order to procure for him the advantages 
< 5 f an academical education. Thus patronized, in the year 
1744, he entered of Wadham-coilege, Oxford; where 
lie foon didinguilhed himfelf in that department of ftudy 
in which he afterwards became fo eminent. While he was 
yet an under-graduate, lie commenced his career in facred 
criticifm by publidiing “Two Differtations : the firft on 
the Tree of Life in Paradile, with fome Obfervations on 
the Creation and Fall of Man ; thefecond on the Oblation 
of Cain and Abel,” 8vo. Thefe differtations were fo fa¬ 
vourably received that they came* to a fecond edition in 
the year 1747 ; and they alfo procured the author the ex- 
traordinary honour of having the degree of B. A. confer¬ 
red on him gratis by the univerfity, a year before the fta- 
tutabie period. They were dedicated by him, in terms 
itrongly expreffive of his lively gratitude, to thofe liberal 
benefactors who had placed him in this feat of learning, 
and whole Continued favour and friendship had encouraged 
and animated him in his lludies. To s the reputation which 
he acquired by tjiis production, together with the zealous 
exertions of his friends, he was not lortg afterwards in¬ 
debted for his fuccefs as a candidate for a fellowlhip of 
Exeter-college. When he was of fufficient Handing he 
rook the degree of M. A. but before that time, if we are 
not deceived, he had been admitted into holy orders. It 
is faid, that when he fil'd came to officiate in his clerical 
capacity at his native place, and his father, as clerk, was 
proceeding to put the furplice on his Ihoulders, a ltruggle 
enfued between the modelly of the fon and the honed 
pride of the parent, who infilled on paying his fon the 
fame refpect that he had been accudomed to Ihow to other 
clergymen ; in which filial obedience was obliged to fub- 
tnit. A circumdance is added, that his mother had often 
declared that die Ihould never be able to lupport the joy 
of hearing her fon preach ; and that, on her attendance at 
this time, die was fo overcome, as to be taken out in a 
Hate of temporary infenfibility. 
Mr. Kennicott continued to maintain liis reputation* by 
1 
COTT. 
the publication of feveral occaliona! lermons; in fome of 
which his critical talents are advantageoudy displayed. In 
the year 1753, he laidThe foundation of his great work, 
by publidiing, “The State of the Hebrew Text of the Old 
Tedament confidered : A Differtation in two Parts,” See. 
8vo. The delign of this publication was to overthrow a 
drange notion which had long prevailed among divines, 
concerning what is called the integrity of the Hebrew 
text, namely, that the copies of it had been preferved ab- 
l'olutely pure and uncorrupt. Though this idea was au¬ 
dit'd in itfelf, and though no fuch perfection was fuppofed 
to exid in the manuferipts of the New Tedainent, yet it 
had almod univerfally occupied the minds of biblical cri¬ 
tics. A few, indeed, of greater fagacity, and of deeper 
as well as more liberal inquiry, among whom Capellus was 
the mod didinguidied, had found out that various errors 
mud have crept into the Bible as we now have it. Capel- 
lus’s obfervations on this fubjeCt are i alerted in his Critic a 
Sacra, piiblifiied after his death by his fon, in 1650. In 
vain did Buxtorf and numerous other critics exert all 
their ability and ikill to ward off this blow on the gene¬ 
rally-received notion. But Capellus, though his argu¬ 
ments were fupported by the authority of the Samaritan 
Pentateuch, that of parallel paffages, and the ancient ver¬ 
sions, yet, as lie had no opportunity of co'nfulting manu- 
Icripts, could never abfolutely prove his point. This talk 
was referved for Mr. Kennicott. Indeed, the general opi¬ 
nion was, that the Hebrew manuferipts contained none, or 
at lead very few and trifling variations from the printed 
text. With refpeCt to the Samaritan Pentateuch, verydif- 
ferrent opinions were entertained. Thofe who maintain¬ 
ed the notion of the integrity of the Hebrew text, of 
courfe condemned the Samaritan as corrupt in every place 
where it differed from the Hebrew ; and tho-fe who be¬ 
lieved the Hebrew to be incorreCl, did not think the Sa¬ 
maritan of fufficient authority to be made ufe of in cor¬ 
recting it. Befides, the Samaritan itfelf .appeared thea 
under very great difadvantage : for no Samaritan manu¬ 
feripts were at that time known, and the Pentateuch it¬ 
felf was condemned for thofe errors which difpaffionate 
criticifm would have aferibed to the incorreCtnefs of the 
editions. In this Differtation Mr. Kennicott proved, that 
there were many Hebrew manuferipts 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 thofe various readings,confiderableauthority was 
derived in fupport of the an cientvCrfions. He likewife 
announced the exidence of fix Samaritan manuferipts in 
Oxford only, by which many errors in the printed Sama¬ 
ritan might be correCled ; and proved that even from the 
Samaritan, as it was already printed, the Hebrew text 
might be correCled in many paffages. This work, as it 
was reafonable to expect, was examined with great feve- 
rity, both at home and abroad. At home, the doftrine 
of the corrupt date of the Hebrew text was oppofed by 
Comings and Bate, two Hutchinfonians, with as much vio¬ 
lence as if the whole truth of revelation were at dake; 
and it was received with difapprobation by foine perfons 
of founder learning and more temperate judgment, who 
indulged in groundlefs apprehenfions that it would afford 
caufe of triumph to unbelievers. But by the generality 
of learned and candid biblical fcholars, both natives and 
foreigners, its value was judly appreciated ; and they were 
led by it to form high expectations of the author’s future 
labours in the fervice of facred criticifm. 
Mr. Kennicott fpent the next three or four years of his 
life principally in fearching out and examining Hebrew 
manuferipts ; not without finding leifure to preach and to 
publifii fome occafional fermons, which were well received. 
About this time he was appointed one of the king’s preach¬ 
ers at Whitehall; and from the title-page of one of his 
fermons publilhed in 1759, we find that he had been pre- 
fented to the vicarage of Culham in Oxfordlhire. Early 
in the year 1760 he publilhed his “State of the printed 
% Hebrew 
