Kerckhove, John Polyandeu van den, a Dutch Protestant theologian, born at Metz jNIarch 2G, 15G8, was educated at Embden, where his father was pastor of the French Church, and afterwards went to study Hebrew and philosophy at Bremen, and theology at Heidelberg, mider Du Jon and Crellius, and at Geneva under The- odore de Beza and Antony Lafaye. In 1591 he became pastor of the French Church at Leyden, and soon after at Dort. In IGll he succeeded Arminius as professor of theology in the University of Leyden. He took part in the Synod of Dort, and was one of the theologians com- missioned to (b^aw up the canon of that synod ; he was also member of a committee for revising the Bible. Kerckhove died Feb. 4, 1G16. He wrote A ccord desjjas- sages de VEcriture qui semhlent ctre contraires les uns aux autres (Dort, 1590, 12mo) : — Theses logicce atque elhicce (1602) : — Resp)onsio ad interpolata A. Cocheletii, doctoris Sorhonnistce (1610); Cochelet answered in his Cmm^te- rium Culrini: — Miscellaneai Tructationes theohgicce, in quihus (ir/itur de prcBdesdnatione et Ccena Domini (Ley- den, 1629, 8 vo) : — Prima Concertatio anii-sociniana (Am- sterd. 16-40, 8vo) : — De essentiali Christi Existentia Con- certatio, contra Johannem Crellium (Leyden, 1G43, 12mo); etc. He also published Thomas Cartwright's Commen- tarii in Proverbia Sulomonis, and was one of the pub- lishers of the Synopsis purioris Theologice (hcyden,l6'25, 8vo). iiecFop])cns,Bibliotheca Belgica; Hos.horn.The- atrum Hollandix, p. 3G1 ; 'Pa(\ViOt,Memoires, vol. v. ; Joh. Fabricius, Jlistor. Bibliothecarnm, iv, 92. — Hoefer, Nouv. Biog. Generule, xxvii, G04. (J. N. P.)
Ke'reii-hap'pvich (Heb. Ke'ren-hap-Puh', ''^1? T)^3"j, /'o;« of the facG-jKiint, i. c. cosmetic-box; Sept. 'AfiaX^cluQ [v. r. 'AjuriXSa/oc, 'AnaX^iac, MaXBsai;] Kipag, i. e. horn of plenty ; Vulg. correctly Cornu stibii, i. e. of antimonj'), a name given to Job's third daughter (Job xliii, 14), after the Oriental ideas of elegance (see Kitto's Dailg Bib. I II. adloc). B.C. cir. 2220. See Paint.
Keri and Kethib (ainri i-ip, plural liilp "|a'ir>21), so frequently found in the margins and foot- notes of the Hebrew Bibles, exhibit tlie most ancient various readings, and constitute the most important portion of the critico-exegetical apparatus bequeathed v.— D
to us by the Jews of olden times. On this subject we substantially adopt Ginsburg's article in Kitto's Cyclo- jicedia, s. v. See Masoraii.
I. Signification, Classification, and 3fode of Indication of the Keri and Kethib. — The word "^Ip, Jceri', may be either the imperative or the participle passive of the Chaldee verb Xip, to call out, to read, and hence may signify " Read,'' or " It is read," i. e. the word in ques- tion is to be substituted for that in the text. S'^inS, kethib', is the participle passive of the Chaldee verb 3ri2, to icrite, and signifies "It is icritten," i. e. the word in question is in the text. Those who prefer taking the word "^"ip as participle, do so on the ground that it is more consonant with its companion nT^S, which is the participle passive. The two terms thus correspond substantially to the modern ones margin (Keri) and text (Kethib). AVe may add that tlie Rabbins also call the Keri N'^p'O, mikra', scripture, and the Kethib llTlO^) masorah', tradition; but, according to our ideas, these terms should be reversed.
The different readings exhibited in the Keri and Kethib may be divided into three general classes: a. "Words to be read differently from what they are written, arising from the omission, insertion, exchanging, or trans- position of a single letter (-"^v?^ ''"ip, ''"^p^ ^T?) 5 b. Words to be read, but that are not ^vritten in the text (UTID N'Pl 'i"ip) ; and, c. Words written in the text, but that are not to be read (i"!p X'?1 IS'^nS).
a. The first general class (variations) comprises the bulk of the various readings, and consists of—
1. Corrections of errors arising from mistaldng hom- onyms, 0. g. xb, the negative particle, for the similarly sounding 15, the pronoun, of which we have fifteen in- stances (comp. Exod. xxi, 8 ; Lev. xi, 21 ; xxv, 30 ; 1 Sam. ii, 3 ; 2 Sam. xvi, 18 ; 2 Kings viii, 10 ; Ezra iv, 2 ; Job xiii, 15 ; xli, 4 ; Psa. c, 3 ; cxxxix, 16 ; Prov. xix, 7; xxvi, 2; Isa. ix, 2; Ixiii, 9), and two instances in which the reverse is the case (1 Sam. ii, 16 ; xx, 2). Besides noticing them in their respective places, the ]\Iasorah also enumerates them all on Lev. xi, 15. The Talmud {Sopherim, vi) gives three additional ones, viz., 1 Chron. xi, 21 ; Job vi, 21 ; Isa. xlix, 5. hv for bx, of which we have four instances (1 Sam. xx, 24; 1 Kings- i, 33 ; Job vii, 1 ; Isa. Ixv, 7 ; Ezek. ix, 5).
2. Errors arising from mistaking the letters which resemble each other, e. g. S for 3 (comp. Prov. xxi, 29) ; 5 for t (Ezek. xxv, 7) ; 'I for "j (1 Sam. iv, 13); n for 1, of which the Masorah on Prov. xix, 19, and Jer. xxi^. 40, gives four instances (2 Sam. xiii, 37 ; 2 Kings xvi,. 6; Jer. xxi, 40 ; Prov. xix, 19) ; fl for n (.Jer. xxviii, 1 ;. xxxii, 1) ; n for D (2 Sam. xxiii, 13) ; H for T\, of which the Masorah on Prov. xx, 21 gives four instances (2 Sam. xiii, 37; Prov. xx, 21 ; Cant, i, 17 ; Dan. ix, 24) ;; :: for a (1 Sam. xiv, 32) ; "^ for 1 in innumerable in- stances; D for 3 in eleven cases (Josh, iv, 18; vi, 5, 15"; 1 Sam. xi, 6, 9 ; 2 Sam. v, 24 ; 2 Kings iii, 24 ; Ezra viii, 14 ; Neh. iii, 20 ; Esth. iii, 4 ; Job xxi, 13 ; D for n (Isa. xxx, 32) ; :J for SJ (2 Kings xx, 4) ; "I for ^ twice (Jer. ii, 20 ; Ezra viii, 14) ; n for H (Eccles. xii, 6) ; n for n (2 Kings xxiv, 14; xxv, 17; Jer. Iii, 21).