The son of Francis and Joan Venning, he was born in Devon, perhaps at Kingsteignton, about 1621.
He was educated at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, where he was admitted as a sizar on 1 April 1643, graduated B.A.
[3] Ejected by the Uniformity Act 1662, Venning became a colleague to Robert Bragge (1627–1704), pastor of an independent congregation at Pewterers' Hall, Lime Street, Fenchurch Street, and held this charge till his death.
He published, besides single sermons preached at St. Paul's Cathedral in 1654 and 1656: Posthumous were He was one of the editors of the English Greek Lexicon (1661), the first lexicon of New Testament Greek giving the meanings in English).
He prefaced books by William Strong, Jonathan Hanmer, Theophilus Polwhele, and John Goodwin.