CHEYNE, THOMAS KELLY. — Protestant exegete, b. in London on 18 Sept. 1841, d. there on 16 Nov. 1915. Professor at Oxford from 1886 to 1908 and a member of the British Academy. An indefatigable worker, he amassed vast documentation, though it must be used with the utmost caution due to the radical tendencies that were characteristic of him.
By attributing enormous influence to Northern Arabia on the history and doctrine of the Jews, he twisted the sacred text to find proof for his fanciful imaginings, claiming to see references at every turn to Jerahmeel and his descendants. He was joint editor of the Encyclopaedia Biblica (London 1899–1903), which bears his name. His principal works concern Isaiah, the Psalms, biblical criticism, and Jewish history: The Prophecy of Isaiah, A New Translation and Commentary (2 vols., 4th ed., ibid. 1886); The Origin and Religious Contents of the Psalter (ibid. 1891); Founders of Old Testament Criticism (ibid. 1894); The Book of Psalms Translated from a Revised Text (2 vols., ibid. 1904); Critica Biblica (4 parts, ibid. 1906 ff.); The Veil of Hebrew History (ibid. 1913).