Bengel, Johann

ALBRECHT, a German theologian and philologist, B. 1687. He studied at Stuttgart, and Tübingen, and became pastor and head of a school at Denkendorf. He especially applied himself to the critical study of the Greek Testament, of which he published an ed. in 1723. Among his other works are Apparatus Critic us Novi Testament i, a work of great value for its suggestive condensed comments, which first appeared in 1742, and has been several times reprinted, . An attempt has been made to adapt B.'s "Gnomen" to English readers of the present day, in the Critical English Testament, by Black ley and Hawes, published in 1866. D. 1752. Benguela, ( ben - gwela ,) a district of W. Africa, the limits of which are usually considered to be the Coawra River on the N., the Cumene River on the E., the mountains behind Cape Negro on the S., and the shore from that cape to the mouth of the Coanza on the W. According to this outline, it extends from 9° to 16° S. Lat., and from 12° to 17o E. Lon. - B. appears to be mountainous throughout its whole extent. The rivers are numerous and important, and as the direction of the mountains is from N.E. to S.W., the chief of them run in a N.W. course to the Atlantic. This is the case with the large river, without a name, which falls into the ocean at Cape Negro, and with the Cobal, Coporao, Cat umbel a, and Cuvo. Nowhere in Africa is vegetation more abundant or more varied; nowhere are lions, tigers, elephants, rhinoceroses, hippopotami, and other large animals, more numerous. The coast is exce ively unhealthy; but the interior is salubrious, and apparently well fitted for cultivation of all kinds every degree of temperature being experienced at different elevations. Battel, who resided in different parts of the interior for a considerable time, never, amongst all his miseries, complains of the climate. - B. is inhabited by independent tribes, whose habits and manners do not differ from those of other negroes-with the exception of one, the Gagas, or Gigas, a wandering herd of robbers, who appear to approximate more closely to perfect barbarism than any other, even of the African race. - The Portuguese have long had settlements in B. , but their power does not seem to extend far beyond their forts. - The native cap., B. Velha (Old B. ), on the coast, Lat. 10° 45' 8., Lon. 15° 5' E., has a convenient harbor, called Hen's Bay. St. Felipe de B. , the Portuguese cap., once nearly destroyed by an invasion of elephants, is in Lat. 12° 12′ S., Lon. 15° E.; pop . abt. 3,000. A military hospital was built there in 1868. Ben-Ha'dad, the name of three kings of Damascene Syria, who succe ively made war upon the kings of Israel. The last, son of Hazael, was thrice defeated by king Jehoash (2 Kings xiii.) Benha'den, in Florida , a post-office of Wakulla co. Ben'ham's Store, in Indiana , a P. O. of Ripley co. Ben-heyl, n. (Mining.) A term used among the miners in Cornwall, England, to denote a rich lode of tin. Be'ni, is the status construct us of the plural of the Arabic word Ebn or Ibn , "a son." It occurs in Eastern geography as a component part of many names of families or tribes, as Beni Temîm , "the sons of Temîm," i. e. the tribe of Temîm, or the Temîmides; Beni Omayyah , "the sons of Omayyah," i. e. the family known in history under the current name of the Ommiades; Tiah Beni Israel, "the desert of the sons of Israel," the name of a dreary wilderne towards the north of Mount Sinai. Be'ni, a river of Bolivia, formed by the junction of all the streams that rush down from the Eastern Andes between 14° and 18° S. Lat. Flowing through the province of Moxos, it joins the Mamore to form the Madeira. Benic Acid. ( Chem .) A fatty acid, fusing at 125°, found in certain kinds of oil of ben. Beni carlo, a maritime town of Spain, în Valencia, on the Mediterranean, 25 m. S. of Tortosa. The surrounding territory produces large quantities of a dark-red colored wine, of considerable strength and flavor; pop . 7,366. Benicia, ( ben-ish'yah,) in California , a large city and former cap. of the State, in Solano co., on the N. side of the Strait of Carquinez, connecting San Pablo and Suinen bays. The capitol, built in 1853, for the meeting of the State legislature, is a fine brick edifice, standing on a slope half a mile from the water-front of the city. Here are situated the extensive depôt, machine shops, and foundries of the Pacific Mail Steamship Company. It is also the government depôt for the coast, including extensive barracks, . Considerable quantities of arms and ammunition are stored and repaired here. Around the city are several quarries of hydraulic cement of the best quality, which is extensively manufactured; ships of the largest size may enter the harbor close to the city. B. is noted for its many excellent schools, colleges, and academies.