Kish

There were several of this name in Scripture. (See 1 Sam. ix. 1. 1 Chron. 8. 30. 2 Chron. 29. 12.) The word itself simply means somewhat hard.

Kish, son of Ner, and father of King Saul (1Sa 9:1).

Kish. (a bow).

1. The father of Saul; a Benjamite of the family of Matri. (B.C. 1095).

2. Son of Jehiel and uncle to Kish, 1. 1Ch 9:36.

3. A Benjamite, great-grandfather of Mordecai. Est 2:5.

4. A Merarite of the house of Mahli, of the tribe of Levi. 1Ch 23:21-22; 1Ch 24:28-29.

("bow".)

1. Saul’s father, son of Abiel, of Benjamin, brother of Abner (1Sa 9:1-21; 1Sa 14:51). 1Ch 8:33 passes over many intermediate links between Saul and Ner, the son of Abi (the father) of Gibeon.

2. A descendant of Benjamin, of the family of Gibeon, distinct from Saul’s father (1Ch 8:30).

3. A Merarite Levite, son of Abdi, in Hezekiah’s days; sanctified himself to cleanse the temple (2Ch 29:12). The Levitical house under its chief, rather than an individual, is meant here by Kish.

4. 1Ch 23:21 KISH or KISHI, ancestor of Ethan the minstrel (1Ch 6:44; 1Ch 15:17) KISH or KUSHAIAH.

5. Est 2:5.

1. Son of Abiel a Benjamite and father of Saul, king of Israel. 1Sa 9:1; 1Sa 9:3; 1Sa 10:11; 1Sa 10:21; 1Sa 14:51; 2Sa 21:14; 1Ch 8:33, etc. Called CIS in Act 13:21.

2. Son of Jehiel, a Benjamite. 1Ch 8:30; 1Ch 9:36. Probably the uncle of No. 1. See NER.

3. Son of Mahli and grandson of Merari. 1Ch 23:21-22; 1Ch 24:29.

4. Son of Abdi, a descendant of Merari. 2Ch 29:12.

5. Ancestor of Mordecai. Est 2:5.

By: Emil G. Hirsch, Bernhard Pick

The father of Saul, the first king of Israel (I Sam. ix. 3, xii. 21, xiv. 51; I Chron. ix. 39, xii. 1, xxvi. 28). He was a wealthy and powerful Benjamite, the son of Ner (I Chron. viii. 33, ix. 39) and the grandson (I Sam. ix. 1 reads "son") of Abiel. The home of Kish and of his family was at Gibeah, according to I Sam. x. 5, 10 (rendered "the hill of God" and "the hill" in the English versions), but according to II Sam. xxi. 14, at Zelah, where the bones of Saul and Jonathan were buried "in the sepulcher of Kish." The text is no doubt corrupt. The only incident mentioned respecting Kish is that he sent Saul in search of some of his asses (I Sam. ix. 3). In the New Testament (Acts xiii. 21) Kish is called "Cis."

KISH.—1. The father of Saul the first king of Israel (1Sa 9:1; 1Sa 10:21; 1Sa 14:51, Act 13:21). His home was at Gibeah (rendered ‘the hill of God’ and ‘the hill’ in both AV [Note: Authorized Version.] and RV [Note: Revised Version.] of 1Sa 10:5; 1Sa 10:10). 2. The uncle of the foregoing (1Ch 8:30; 1Ch 9:36). 3. The eponym of a family of Merarite Levites (1Ch 23:21-22; 1Ch 24:29, 2Ch 29:12). 4. A Benjamite ancestor of Mordecai (Est 2:5).

A snare

kish (קישׁ, ḳı̄sh; Κίς, Kı́s, Κείς, Keı́s, “bow,” “power”): The name of five persons mentioned in the Bible:

(1) The son of Abiel and the father of Saul, the first king of Israel. He was of the tribe of Benjamin, of the family of the Matrites (1Sa 9:1; 1Sa 14:51; compare Act 13:21; 1Sa 10:21). According to 1Ch 8:33 and 1Ch 9:39, “Ner begat Kish” By reading “Ner begat Abner” (compare 1Sa 14:51; 1Ch 6:28), the difficulty is at least partly overcome. In 1Ch 12:1, Kish is also mentioned as the father of Saul, and again in 2Sa 21:14, we are told that the sepulcher of Kish was located in the country of Benjamin, in Zela. His place of residence seems to have been at Gibeah.

(2) Another Kish is mentioned (1Ch 8:29 f; 1Ch 9:35 f) as the son of Jeiel and his wife Maacah. He is usually supposed to be the uncle of Saul’s father.

(3) A Levite, the son of Mahli the Merarite (1Ch 23:21 f; compare 1Ch 24:29).

(4) Another Merarite Levite in the time of Hezekiah (2Ch 29:12).

(5) The great-grandfather of Mordecai, of the tribe of Benjamin (Est 2:5).

(÷ִéùׁ, Êßò), the father of Saul, called Cis in the Authorized Version (Act_13:21).