1 Samuel 9:1

1 And there was a man of Benjamin, that was called Kish, the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Bechorath, the son of Aphiah, the son of a man that was called Benjamin (a Benjamite), a strong man in bodily might.

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.

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FOOTNOTES:

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

1 Samuel 9:1 In-Context

1 And there was a man of Benjamin, that was called Kish, the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Bechorath, the son of Aphiah, the son of a man that was called Benjamin (a Benjamite), a strong man in bodily might.

2 And to him was a son, Saul by name, chosen and good(ly); and no man of the sons of Israel was better than he; (and) from the shoulder(s) and above, he appeared over all the people.

3 And the she-asses of Kish, the father of Saul, were lost (And one day the female donkeys of Kish, Saul's father, went missing). And Kish said to Saul his son, Take with thee one of the servants, and rise thou, and go seek the she-asses.

4 And when they had gone forth by the hill (country) of Ephraim, and by the land of Shalisha, and they had not found them, they passed forth also by the land of Shalim, and they were not there; but also they passed by the land of Benjamin, and yet they found (them) not.

5 And when they had come into the land of Zuph, and had not found (them), Saul said to his servant that was with him, Come thou, and turn we again; lest peradventure my father hath left (off caring about) the female asses, and is busy for us (and is now concerned about us).