BEN

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BEN

BENEFIC1UM, in military matters, among the Romans, de-noted a promotion to a higher rank by the favour of some personin authority.

BENENAIM, BENENATI-1, BENENASCII, or BENE-NAT, in astronomy, the outermost star, of the second magnitude,in the tail of Ursa Major . It is also called Allioth.

BENEPLACITO, in music books, signifies, if you please; or,if you will.

BENERTII, a feudal service formerly rendered by the tenantto his lord, with his plough and cart.

BENESOEUF, a town of Egypt, on the Nile .

BENEYENTE, a town of the province of Leon in Spain .

I on. 5. 5. \V. Eat. 42. 4. N.

BENEYENTO, a city and duchy of Italy , in the kingdom ofNaples , with an archbishop’s see.

BENEVOLENCE, in morals, signifies the love of mankind ingeneral, accompanied with a desire to promote their happiness.See Mon al Philosophy.

BENEVOLENTIA Rf.gis II abendo, aform in ancient fines,to purchase the king’s favour, in order to be restored to estate,title or place.

BENFEI.I), orBENFIELD. a town of France , in the de-partment of the Lower Rhine. Lon. 7. 45. E. Lat. 48. 14. N.

BENGAL, a country of Hindostan in Asia , bounded on theE. by the kingdoms of Assem, Tipra, and Arracan; on the W.by Malva and Berar ; on the N. by Gelmd, Rotas, Benares, andJesuat ; and on the S. by Orixa and the bay of Bengal. Itsgreatest length from W. to E. is about 720 miles, and its breadthfrom S. to N\ where greatest, is not less than 300. As this countrylies almost entirely within the torrid zone, and in the middle ofa very extensive continent, it is sometimes subject to such ex-tremes of heat as render it very fatal to European constitutions.Dr. Lind is of opinion, that the climate of Bengal is the mostdangerous in this respect, of any of the English territories, ex-cepting Bencoolen on the coast of Sumatra . However it is oneof the most fertile provinces in India , being yearly overflowed bythe Ganges, as Egypt ishv the Nile.

BEN GO, a protince of Angola in Africa .

I5ENGUELA, a province of Angola ; also a river, and thecapita! of the province.

BEN-I11NNOM, or IIINNOM, in ancient geography, avalley in the suburbs, and E. of Jerusalem , either a part ot, orconjoined with, the valley of Kidron ; infamous for sacrificingchildren to Moloch by fire. It is not unfashionable in the circles©f modern infidelity, to censure Moses and Joshua for orderingthe Israelites to extirpate the Canaanites ; which is represented asa piece of barbarity unworthy of their divine mission. But whenwe consider how universally prevalent human sacrifices wereamong these nations, not of the guilty only, but of the innocentand tender babes, who were sacrificed by fire in the most tedious,lingering, and excruciating manner, the humane reader of theScriptures will rather regret, that through the disobedience of theIsraelites , nations so completely given up to the most barbarousspecies of priestcraft, were not, with their diabolical system ofidolatry, totally extirpated. And it is worthy of remark, thatmost, If not the whole, of those nations, that were most addictedto these horrid rites, (for instance the Tyrians, Sidonians , andCarthaginians,) have been long ago extirpated from (he face of theearth, by other nations. The deist, therefore, who presumes toblame the God of Moses for ordering the Canaanites to he extir-pated, should, if consistent, first find an apology for the deitv heprofesses to believe in for permitting the extirpation of theseother nations of idolaters, by the Greeks and Romans.

BENJAMIN, the 12th tribe of the Israelites , ami the onlyone besides Judah , which adhered to the house of David, upontiie revolt under Jeroboam. When this tribe came out of Egypt ,it consisted of five families, and 35,000 armed men. In thew ilderness they increased to 45,tioO. During tiie republic, theyhad become such expert warriors, and so very numerous, as toe teem themselves a match for all the other tribes; and in thisvain confidence, they refused to deliver up to justice the mon-sters who abused tiie I.evite’s concubine. But they sufferedseverely for their follv ; for though they twice; defeated numberserea.ly superior, vet at tiie third battle their tribe was almosttotallv extirpated, being reduced to 600 men :—a reward justlydue io their folly in defending such monstrous wickedness. In

David’s reign, however, the Benjamites were become so nume-rous, that three families of them amounted to 5*4,434, and theirtrained bands to 24,000 ; and in the reign of Jehoshaphat theirmilitia amounted to 380,000. They were also very numerousafter the Bain lonisli captivity.

BEN [ARAN, a town of Algiers in Africa .

BENI kllALED, one of the most powerful tribes in all Arabiaon account of their conquests, their wealth, and the number ofother tribes subject to them.

Beni Lam, a great tribe of Bedouin Arabs, between Koine and Bagdad, upon tiie banks of tiie Tigris, tiie Arabic name ofwhich, among tiie inhabitants, is Didsjele.

BENIN, a kingdom of Guinea, in Africa , hounded by part oftiie gulph called tiie Bite of Benin , and the Slave Coast, on theW. part of Gago and Biafara, on the N. Myjac and Makoka onthe E. and Congo on tiie S. Also, Benin' is the capital of thekingdom, and the name of one of its rivers.

BENNET, Christopher, an eminent physician in the 16thcentury, was tiie son of John Bennet, of Kaynton, in Somerset-shire. He was educated at Lincoln college, Oxford ; and pub-lished a treatise on consumptions, inlitled, “ Theatri TabidorumVestibulum,” &c. also “ Ex’ercitaliones Diognostica 1 , cum Ilis-toriis demonstrativis, quibus Alimentoruin et Sanguinis vitia de-teguntur 5 ill plerisque morbis,” &c.”

Bennf.t, Thomas, D. D. an eminent divine, born at Salis-bury in 1073. and educated at Cambridge. In 1700, he wasmade rector of St. James’s in Colchester; afterwards lie was lec-turer of St. Olave’s, Southwark, and morning preacher at St.Laurence, Jew ry ; and at last was presented to the vicarage of Si.Giles’s, Cripplegate, worth 500/. a year. While lie was in thisstation, he was engaged in several law suits in defence of tiierights of the church, to which he recovered, 150/. a year, liew rote, 1 . An answer to the Dissenters I’lea for Separation. 2. AConfutation of Boperv. 3. A Discovery of Schism. 4. AuAnswer to a book inlitled Thomas against Bennet. 5. A Confu-tation of Quakerism. 6. A brief History of tiie joint Use of pre-conceived Forms of Prayer. 7. An Answer to Dr. Clarke’sScripture doctrine of tiie Trinity. 8. A Paraphrase, with Anno-tations , on the Book of Common Prayer. 9. A Hebrew Gram-mar; and other pieces, lie died October 9th, 1728, aged 56,

Bennet, in botany. See Cakyophyllus.

BEN-NEVIS, or BENEYIS, a lofty mountain of Scotland ,in Inverness-shire, 4370 feet above the level of the sea.

BENNINGTON, a county and town of the State of Vermont ,in North America .

BENSHEIM, a town of Germany , 10 miles N. E. of Worms.

BENSON, I)r. George, a learned dissenting minister, bornat Great Salkeld, in Cumberland, in 1099. At tl years of age,lie was able to read the Greek Testament. He afterwards studiedat Dr. Dixon’s academy at Whitehaven, from whence he removedto tiie university of Glasgow . In 1721, he was chosen pastor ofa congregation of Dissenters at Abingdon in Berkshire ; in 1729,lie received a'call from a society of dissenters in Southwark, withwhom he continued 11 years; and in 1740, was chosen by thecongregation of Clutched Friars, colleague to the learned Dr.J.ardner. His w ritings are, “ A Defence of tiie Reasonableness ofPrayer.” “ A Paraphrase and Notes on tiie Epistle to Phile-mon .” “ Paraphrases and Notes on the Epistles to the Thcssu-lonians, 'Timothy, and Titus; adding, Dissertations on severalimportant Subjects, particularly on Inspiration.” “ History ofthe first Planting of Christianity, ” in 2 vols. 4to. “The Reasona-ablcness of tiie C hristian Religion.” “ 'Die History of the Lifeof Jesus Christ.” “ A Paraphrase and Notes on tiie sevenCatholic Epistles,” and several oilier works which procured himgreat reputation. One of the universities in Scotland sent him adiploma with a doctor's degree; and many of high rank in tiiechurch of England , as Herring, Headley, Butler, Benson, Conev-beare, &c. shewed him great marks ot favour and regard, liedied in 1703.

BENTLEY, Dr. Richard, an eminent critic and divine,was born at Oulton, near Wakefield. His ancestors posses;ed anestate, at Hepenstall, iirthe parish of Halifax. He was admittedof St. John’s college , Cambridge, May 24, 1G70; being thenlittle more than 14 years of age. In 1092, Dr. Stillingilect, beingthen bishop of Worcester, collated him to a prebend in tliaichurch, and also made him his chaplain. He was the first who

preached