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2 S. gether to battle, and the men of Ifrael were gone away, 1 C. were gathered together to battle,

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2 S. 10. He arofe, and fmote the Philiftines until his hand was I C.

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2 S. weary, and his hand clave unto the fword: and the Lord I C.

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2 S. wrought a great victory that day; and the people returned 1 C.

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2 S. after him only to fpoil. 11. And after him was Shammah, I C.

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2 S. the fon of Agee, the Hararite: and the Philiftines were 1 C. *

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2 S. gathered together into a troop, where was a piece of I C. where was a parcel of ground

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2 S. ground full of lentiles: and the people fled from the PhiC. full of barley; and the people fled from before the Phi

2 S. liftines. 12. But he ftood in the midst of the ground, and C. liftines. 14. And they fet themfelves in the midst of that

2 S. defended it, and flew the Philiftines: and the Lord 1 C. parcel, and delivered it, and flew the Philiftines; and the

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C. Lord faved them by a great deliverance.

The examination of thefe two parallel chapters did not, however, conftitute the whole of our learned Editor's firft Differtation on the Hebrew text. For though fuch great corruptions were proved from the printed text itself, and from the ancient verfions; yet it had not at that time been fufpected, that there were now extant any Hebrew manufcripts which would at all affift in correcting the faulty paffages of the Old Teftament. Nevertheless, even this was difcovered to be true. For Dr. Kennicott, on examining fome of the Hebrew manufcripts in the Bodleian Library, found that they contained, in these chapters, feveral of the very readings which he had recommended as the genuine ones, in the part of his book that had been printed off before he had looked into thofe manufcripts. Our Author having thus fortunately discovered that the Hebrew mapufcripts contained many and confiderable variations, he added

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an account of these manufcripts, with various proofs of their importance, by way of a fecond part to that firft Differtation.

A difcovery fo important to facred literature being thus begun in 1753, and extended to feventy Hebrew and Samaritan manufcripts in Oxford, it was foon much improved by confulting a number of others, at Cambridge, and in London. Nor was the enquiry confined to thefe places, or even to our own kingdom for a Catalogue of all the other Hebrew and Samaritan manufcripts, then known to exift in the world, was published by our ingenious Difcoverer, in 1760, in a fecond Differtation on the Hebrew Text. In this laft work, he endeavoured to establish a general conviction, as to the certainty of the printed Hebrew copies being much corrupted, and the great advantages to be derived from manufcripts-by furnishing many various readings of confequence, which are the true ones-and by confirming the ancient versions in a multitude of inftances of little moment in themselves, and therefore not likely to have originated from defign. It was alfo proved, that the Samaritan Pentateuch was of great importance; that its manufcripts would correct a variety of typographical errors, which difgraced the two printed editions; and that the Samaritan copies were frequently con firmed even by the Hebrew manuscripts.

In confequence of these interesting difcoveries, our Author was folicited by the late Archbishop Secker, and many other learned perfons, and by feveral focieties of literary men, particularly the University of Oxford, to undertake a collation of all the Hebrew and Samaritan manufcripts in our own country. With the profpect of fo vaft and arduous a work Dr. Kennicott was at firft almost difcouraged; thinking that the labour of his whole life might perhaps be too little for its accomplishment. However, he at laft confented to undertake it, in the year 1760. The General Differtation then proceeds to ftate briefly the progrefs made, and the chief occurrences during the collation. Ten years was the time which the Doctor declared would be neceflary to be employed in collating the Hebrew and Samaritan manufcripts; and, with a punctuality of which the instances are very uncommon, he kept his word with the Public.

As we intend to give only a fhort view of the General Differtation, we muft content ourfelves with juft touching upon the chief circumftances mentioned in the history of this ten years collation. The early patronage of his Majefty is celebrated with due gratitude; as well as the favour fhewn to the defign at Rome, particularly by the Cardinals Paffionei, Albani, and Spinelli. The foreign places next mentioned as having given affiftance to this undertaking are Florence and Turin; with Dr. Bayer at Toledo, and Profeffor L'Advocat at Paris. Inquiries after manufcrip's were also made, by our Author, very

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early, at Conftantinople, Warfaw, Venice, Bologna, Mantua, Pavia, Genoa, Lisbon, Geneva, Utrecht, Erfurt, Berlin, Stockholm, and Hamburgh. At the laft city are many Hebrew manuscripts; and a collation of the beft of them was undertaken by the celebrated Reimarus; whofe warm applause of this work is here, with great propriety, introduced, because, fince his death, it hath been reported that he was an enemy to the undertaking.

In 1762, being the third year of the collation, and in which a ftop to the farther profecution of it was threatened by a dangerous illness, from which Dr. Kennicott happily recovered, his important defign met with diftinguifhed favour, both at home and abroad at home, from the Univerfities of Cambridge and Dublin, and from the Curators of the British Mufeum: and abroad, from Sir J. Porter at Conftantinople; from a public approbation under the feal of Geneva, as he had before received from Cardinal Paffionei, at Rome; and from Milan, Pavia, Zuric, Berne, Vienna, Cologne, and Berlin-at which laft place, the very copy of the Hebrew Bible ufed by Luther was now collated. The Hebrew manufcripts at Copenhagen, collected in Africa by order of the late King of Denmark, were offered for the use of this work, and accepted; whilft inquiries were also making in America and Afia, particularly at Aleppo.

In 1765, our fagacious Editor difcovered that the collation of the five Erfurt manufcripts, which had been published, and appeared fo unfavourable to any farther collations, had been given very imperfectly to the world; because the most material variations in them had been left out by the publisher. But a difcovery of much fuperior confequence was, that the printed editions of the Hebrew Bible, which had been fuppofed to agree (and on which agreement had been founded the notion of the integrity of that Text), differed greatly from one another; particularly, that the oldeft editions agreed moft with the oldeft and beft manufcripts, and the modern editions with the latest and worft manufcripts. One proof is, that the variations in the first edition (in 1488), from Van Hooght (in 1705), amount to twelve thousand.

The year 1767 brought great advantages to the work before us, from Dr. Kennicott's own examination of the Paris manufcripts, both Samaritan and Hebrew; and from Dr. Gill's collation of all the paffages quoted in the Talmud. An Hebrew manufcript, once belonging to a fynagogue at Jerufalem, was now purchased by his Britannic Majefty. And in hopes of other treasures from the eaft, our Author fent to Canton, and had nearly fucceeded in procuring a manufcript from the Jews at Cai-fong-fu, in the province of Honan. But, though he failed in China, he fucceeded in America; having procured a complete

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complete Hebrew manufcript from a Jew at New York. During the tenth and laft year of this collation, the eight Danish manufcripts, at our indefatigable Editor's request, were fent to Oxford, for his own examination of them; as were fix from Toledo, by Dr. Bayer. Collations of other manufcripts were furnished, at the fame time, from Silefia, Cologne, Strafburgh, Koenigfburg, Upfal, Leyden, and Ireland.

Materials for this noble undertaking being thus collected from all quarters, the variations were to be brought together, and digefted under their feveral books, chapters, and verses. And the method in which this very difficult and most perplexing department of the work was done, is fo clearly defcribed, as to make a curious part of the General Differtation. During this operation, Dr. Kennicott formed a plan for a more complete fcrutiny of the beft manufcripts through Europe, by fending fome well qualified perfon to re-examine the manufcripts already collated, and to examine the reft in paffages of greater moment, and where fuccefs feemed at all probable. Mr. (now Dr.) Bruns, a learned German, was felected for this embafly; and he was honoured with letters from the Secretaries of State here to all our Ambaffadors abroad, as well as from the rulers of the two fynagogues in London. The places in which he thus examined manufcripts, during a tour of three years, were Paris, Louvain, Cologne, Mentz, Worms, Manheim, Nuremburg, Augfburg, Stutgard, Carlfruhe, Strafburg, Bafle, Zuric, Berne, Geneva, Turin, Cafale, Vercelli, Milan, Genoa, Leg. horn, Sienna, Rome, Florence, Bologna, Cefena, Modena, Reggio, Parma, Mantua, Padua, Venice, Udine, Goritia, Gradifca, Triefte, Vienna, Dresden, Leipfic, Erfurt, Jena, Deffau, Berlin, Hamburg, Helmftadt, Caffel, Amfterdam, Utrecht, Leyden, and the Hague.

The variations contained in nearly feven hundred bundles of papers, being at laft digefted, including the collections made by Dr. Bruns; and the whole, when put together, being corrected by the original collations, and then fairly tranfcribed into thirty folio volumes, the work was put to the prefs in October 1773; and both volumes, with the General Diflertation, were finished in July 1780. The Hebrew Text, which is made the ftandard for this edition, is that of Van Hooght, in 1705; and the Samaritan Text is from Walton's Polyglott. The various readings are arranged at the bottom of every page; where the manufcripts are referred to by their numbers, as fettled in a catalogue, according to their refpective numbers and ages. With regard to the laft article, which is of no fmall importance, Dr. Kennicott has obliged the world, and gratified the wifhes of his patrons, by giving his opinion, as to the ages of each of these manufcripts: and his opinion is the more valuable, and the more to be relied

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upon, as he has found, upon repeated trials, that his conjectures, as to the age of Hebrew manufcripts, have been near the truth.

All the copies used for this edition are fix hundred and ninetyfour, of which about fix hundred and thirty are manufcripts; and the catalogue of the whole makes more than forty pages. The manufcript, here thought to be the oldest and beft, belongs to the Bodleian, and is fuppofed to be eight hundred years old. It contains about fourteen thoufand variations; and of these above two thousand are contained in the Pentateuch part, though it be now imperfect. But in the Pentateuch of this manufcript, the Greek verfion is confirmed by an hundred and nine various readings; the Syriac, by ninety-eight; the Arabic, by eightytwo; the Vulgat, by eighty-eight; and the Chaldee Paraphrafe, by forty-two it alfo agrees with the Samaritan Text, againft the printed Hebrew, in feven hundred inftances. It is remarked in a note, that this is the only manufcript which has preserved a word of great importance for understanding 2 Sam. xxiii. 3-7.; which word is confirmed by the Greek verfion, and recovers to us a prophecy of the Meffiah. Many other remarks, made on other manufcripts in this Catalogue, muft, though curious and interefting, be here paffed over. But we cannot forbear expreffing the pleasure we have received from the Table, in which all the manufcripts are brought together in one view, with their ages expreffed in a very curious manner. The Catalogue is concluded in the following words, too important to be omitted: Catalogo nunc finito, nefas foret non gloriari de tot et tantis codicibus, editionis hujus gratiâ, fic collatis. Quis enim alius, inter omnes omnino codices, varias lectiones fibi affumpfit ex manufcriptis fexcentis? Quis, ex manufcriptis trecentis? Nec magis admirabitur lector numerum eorum quam antiquitatem; quum certior factus fuerit-Manufcriptos, in primis 3 columnis pofitos, quafi annorum 600 ad 800 ætatem habentes, non effe (me judice) pauciores quàm 51-et manufcriptos, in columnà quartâ, annorum 480 ad 580, effe 174-ideoque operi huic infervire manufcriptos, annorum fupra 480, ducentos viginti quinque. Nec difplicebit lectori, fi fubmoneam, quòd ab eo debentur gratiæ tribus præcipue civitatibus: Oxonio, in quo confervantur codices Heb. manufcripti 98; Parifiis, in quibus funt go; et Romæ, in quâ 101.'

Our learned Author next proceeds to account for fome peculiarities in the manner of his printing this edition; the first of which is printing the poetical parts in jhort lines like poetry; which must certainly render it much more intelligible. Nor is this at all inconfiftent with the declared refolution of printing the Text agreeably to that of Van Hooght. The fame may be laid as to a little space left here and there, to hint the probable omiffion of a

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