1 Samuel 9:1

1 Now there was a man of Benjamin, whose name [was] Kish, the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Bechorath, the son of Aphiah, a Benjaminite, a mighty man of power.

1 Samuel 9:1 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 9:1

Now there was a man of Benjamin
Of the tribe of Benjamin, which had its name from the youngest son of Jacob, and one of this tribe was the first king of Israel:

whose name was Kish:
whom the apostle calls Cis, ( Acts 13:21 ) , and Josephus ^F9 Cises; his name, according to Hillerus ^F11, signifies "ensnared"; for what reason it was given him is not certain:

the son of Abiel;
in ( 1 Chronicles 8:33 ) ( 9:39 ) , he is called Ner that begat Kish; and in this book, ( 1 Samuel 14:50 1 Samuel 14:51 ) Ner and Kish are represented as brethren, the sons of Abiel: to reconcile this, it may be observed, that Ner being the elder brother, on the death of his father Abiel, had the care and bringing up of his younger brother Kish; and therefore when he is said to beget him, the meaning is, not that he was the parent of him, but the bringer up of him; or rather, as Kimchi thinks, Abiel had two sons, one of which was Ner; and that he had two sons, one that was called after his own name Ner, who was the father of Abner; and the other Kish, the father of Saul:

the son of Zeror, the son of Bechorath, the son of Aphiah, a Benjamite;
of these persons we nowhere else read:

a mighty man of power;
not a man of riches, or of authority, neither a wealthy man, nor a magistrate, for his family was mean and contemptible, ( 1 Samuel 9:21 ) ( 10:27 ) but a man of great strength, an able bodied man, and of great natural fortitude, and courage of mind.

---

FOOTNOTES:

F9 Antiqu. l. 6. c. 4. sect. 1.
F11 Onomastic. Sacr. p. 405.

1 Samuel 9:1 In-Context

1 Now there was a man of Benjamin, whose name [was] Kish, the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Bechorath, the son of Aphiah, a Benjaminite, a mighty man of power.

2 And he had a son, whose name [was] Saul, a choice young man, and a goodly: and [there was] not among the children of Israel a more handsome person than he: from his shoulders and upward [he was] higher than any of the people.

3 And the asses of Kish, Saul's father, were lost. And Kish said to Saul his son, Take now one of the servants with thee, and arise, go seek the asses.

4 And he passed through mount Ephraim, and passed through the land of Shalisha, but they found [them] not: then they passed through the land of Shalim, and [there they were] not: and he passed through the land of the Benjaminites, but they found [them] not.

5 [And] when they had come to the land of Zuf, Saul said to his servant that [was] with him, Come, and let us return; lest my father leave [caring] for the asses, and be anxious for us.