1 Samuel 9:1
New International Version
There was a Benjamite, a man of standing, whose name was Kish son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Bekorath, the son of Aphiah of Benjamin.

New Living Translation
There was a wealthy, influential man named Kish from the tribe of Benjamin. He was the son of Abiel, son of Zeror, son of Becorath, son of Aphiah, of the tribe of Benjamin.

English Standard Version
There was a man of Benjamin whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, son of Zeror, son of Becorath, son of Aphiah, a Benjaminite, a man of wealth.

Berean Standard Bible
Now there was a Benjamite, a powerful man, whose name was Kish son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Becorath, the son of Aphiah of Benjamin.

King James Bible
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 Benjamite, a mighty man of power.

New King James Version
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 Benjamite, a mighty man of power.

New American Standard Bible
Now there was a man of Benjamin whose name was Kish the son of Abiel, son of Zeror, son of Becorath, son of Aphiah, son of a Benjaminite, a valiant mighty man.

NASB 1995
Now there was a man of Benjamin whose name was Kish the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Becorath, the son of Aphiah, the son of a Benjamite, a mighty man of valor.

NASB 1977
Now there was a man of Benjamin whose name was Kish the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Becorath, the son of Aphiah, the son of a Benjamite, a mighty man of valor.

Legacy Standard Bible
Now there was a man of Benjamin whose name was Kish the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Becorath, the son of Aphiah, the son of a Benjamite, a mighty man of valor.

Amplified Bible
There was a man of [the tribe of] Benjamin whose name was Kish the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Becorath, the son of Aphiah, a Benjamite, a mighty man of influence and wealth.

Christian Standard Bible
There was a prominent man of Benjamin named Kish son of Abiel, son of Zeror, son of Becorath, son of Aphiah, son of a Benjaminite.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
There was an influential man of Benjamin named Kish son of Abiel, son of Zeror, son of Becorath, son of Aphiah, son of a Benjaminite.

American Standard Version
Now there was a man of Benjamin, whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Becorath, the son of Aphiah, the son of a Benjamite, a mighty man of valor.

Aramaic Bible in Plain English
And there was one man from Benjamin, and his name, Qish, son of Abiel, son of Tserud, son of Bekaruth, son of Aphikh, a man from Benjamin, a mighty man of power

Brenton Septuagint Translation
And there was a man of the sons of Benjamin, and his name was Kis, the son of Abiel, the son of Jared, the son of Bachir, the son of Aphec, the son of a Benjamite, a man of might.

Contemporary English Version
Kish was a wealthy man who belonged to the tribe of Benjamin. His father was Abiel, his grandfather was Zeror, his great-grandfather was Becorath, and his great-great-grandfather was Aphiah.

Douay-Rheims Bible
Now I there was a man of Benjamin whose name was Cis, the son of Abiel, the son of Seror, the son of Bechorath, the son of Aphia, the son of a man of Jemini, valiant and strong.

English Revised Version
Now there was a man of Benjamin, whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Becorath, the son of Aphiah, the son of a Benjamite, a mighty man of valour.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
There was a man from the tribe of Benjamin whose name was Kish. He was a son of Abiel, grandson of Zeror, and great-grandson of Becorath, whose father was Aphiah, a descendant of Benjamin. Kish was a powerful man.

Good News Translation
There was a wealthy and influential man named Kish, from the tribe of Benjamin; he was the son of Abiel and grandson of Zeror, and belonged to the family of Becorath, a part of the clan of Aphiah.

International Standard Version
There was a man from Benjamin named Kish, Abiel's son, the grandson of Zeror and great-grandson of Aphiah's son Becorath. A prominent man from Benjamin,

JPS Tanakh 1917
Now there was a man of Benjamin, whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Becorath, the son of Aphiah, the son of a Benjamite, a mighty man of valour.

Literal Standard Version
And there is a man of Benjamin, and his name [is] Kish, son of Abiel, son of Zeror, son of Bechorath, son of Aphiah, a Benjamite, a mighty man of valor,

Majority Standard Bible
Now there was a Benjamite, a powerful man, whose name was Kish son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Becorath, the son of Aphiah of Benjamin.

New American Bible
There was a powerful man from Benjamin named Kish, who was the son of Abiel, son of Zeror, son of Becorath, son of Aphiah, a Benjaminite.

NET Bible
There was a Benjaminite man named Kish son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Becorath, the son of Aphiah of Benjamin. He was a prominent person.

New Revised Standard Version
There was a man of Benjamin whose name was Kish son of Abiel son of Zeror son of Becorath son of Aphiah, a Benjaminite, a man of wealth.

New Heart English Bible
Now there was a man of Benjamin, whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Becorath, the son of Aphiah, the son of a Benjamite, a mighty man of valor.

Webster's Bible Translation
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.

World English Bible
Now there was a man of Benjamin, whose name was Kish the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Becorath, the son of Aphiah, the son of a Benjamite, a mighty man of valor.

Young's Literal Translation
And there is a man of Benjamin, and his name is Kish, son of Abiel, son of Zeror, son of Bechorath, son of Aphiah, a Benjamite, mighty of valour,

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Saul Chosen as King
1Now there was a Benjamite, a powerful man, whose name was Kish son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Becorath, the son of Aphiah of Benjamin. 2And he had a son named Saul, choice and handsome, without equal among the Israelites—a head taller than any of the people.…

Cross References
Acts 13:21
Then the people asked for a king, and God gave them forty years under Saul son of Kish, from the tribe of Benjamin.

1 Samuel 14:51
Saul's father Kish and Abner's father Ner were sons of Abiel.

1 Chronicles 8:33
Ner was the father of Kish, Kish was the father of Saul, and Saul was the father of Jonathan, Malchishua, Abinadab, and Esh-baal.

1 Chronicles 9:36
Abdon was his firstborn son, then Zur, Kish, Baal, Ner, Nadab,


Treasury of Scripture

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 Benjamite, a mighty man of power.

Kish

1 Samuel 14:51
And Kish was the father of Saul; and Ner the father of Abner was the son of Abiel.

1 Chronicles 8:30-33
And his firstborn son Abdon, and Zur, and Kish, and Baal, and Nadab, …

1 Chronicles 9:36-39
And his firstborn son Abdon, then Zur, and Kish, and Baal, and Ner, and Nadab, …

Cis

1 Samuel 25:2
And there was a man in Maon, whose possessions were in Carmel; and the man was very great, and he had three thousand sheep, and a thousand goats: and he was shearing his sheep in Carmel.

2 Samuel 19:32
Now Barzillai was a very aged man, even fourscore years old: and he had provided the king of sustenance while he lay at Mahanaim; for he was a very great man.

Job 1:3
His substance also was seven thousand sheep, and three thousand camels, and five hundred yoke of oxen, and five hundred she asses, and a very great household; so that this man was the greatest of all the men of the east.

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1 Samuel 9
1. Saul despairing to find his father's donkeys
6. by the counsel of his servant
11. and direction of young maidens
15. according to God's revelation
18. comes to Samuel
19. Samuel entertains Saul at the feast
25. Samuel, after secret communication, brings Saul on his way














(1) Saul.--The inspired compiler of these books--having related the circumstances which accompanied the people's request to the last of the judges for a king--closed the first part of the story of this momentous change in the fortunes of the chosen people with the words of the prophet-judge, bidding the representative elders to return to their homes, and wait the result of his solemn communing with the Eternal Friend of Israel on the subject of this king they so earnestly desired.

The Eternal answered His servant either in a vision, or by Urim, or by an angel visitant. We are in most cases left in ignorance respecting the precise method by which God communicated with these highly-favoured men--His elect servante. The chosen Israelite whom Samuel was to anoint as the first king in Israel would meet the prophet--so said the "word of the Lord" to Samuel--on a certain day and hour, at a given place. The ninth chapter begins with a short account of the family of this man chosen for so high an office, and after a word or two of personal description, goes on to relate the circumstances under which he met Samuel. Saul, a man in the prime of manhood, distinguished among his fellows by his great stature, and for his grace and manly beauty, was the son of a noble and opulent Benjamite of Gribeah, a small city in the south of the Land of Promise.

The whole of this episode in our ancient book is singularly picturesque. We see the yet unproclaimed king occupied in his father's business, and throwing his whole powers into the every-day transactions of the farm on the slopes of Mount Ephraim. In a few words the historian describes how the modest and retiring Saul was roused from the quiet pastoral pursuits in which his hitherto uneventful life had been spent. The reverent, perhaps slightly reluctant, admiration with which the seer of God gazed at the future king of Israel; the prophet's significant address, the symbol gifts, the graceful hospitality, and, above all, the solemn and, no doubt, burning words of the generous old man, woke up the sleeping hero-spirit, and prepared the young Benjamite for his future mighty work. But there was no vulgar elation at the prospect which lay before him, no hurried grasping at the splendid prize which the seer told him the God of his fathers had destined for him. Quietly he took leave of the famous Samuel; the predicted signs of his coming greatness one by one were literally fulfilled; but Saul returned to the ancestral farm in the hills of Benjamin, and was subject to his father, as in old days; and when at last the public summons to the throne came to him, he seems to have accepted the great office for which he had been marked with positive reluctance and shrinking, nor does he appear materially to have altered his old simple way of living until a great national disgrace called for a devoted patriot to avenge it. Then the heroic heart of the Lord's anointed awoke, and Saul, when the hour came, showed himself a king indeed.

Kish, the son of Abiel.--On comparison with the genealogical summaries given in Genesis 46:21; 1Samuel 9:1; 1Samuel 14:51; 1Chronicles 7:6-8, &c, the line of Samuel appears as follows:-- . . .

Verse 1. - A man... whose name was Kish. The genealogy of Saul is rendered obscure by the Hebrew custom of abbreviating such records by the omission of names. The family documents were no doubt kept in full, but when transcribed, as here and in the First Book of Chronicles, only a summary is given, and as the omitted links are not always the same, great difficulty is necessarily the result. The most satisfactory genealogy is that given by Schaff from a comparison of Genesis 46:21; 1 Samuel 9:1; 1 Samuel 14:51; 1 Chronicles 7:6-8; 1 Chronicles 8:29-33; 1 Chronicles 9:35-39, and is as follows:

1. Benjamin;

2. Becher;

3. Aphish, perhaps same as Abiah; . . .

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
Now there was
וַֽיְהִי־ (way·hî-)
Conjunctive waw | Verb - Qal - Consecutive imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 1961: To fall out, come to pass, become, be

a Benjamite,
מִבִּנְיָמִ֗ין‪‬ (mib·bin·yā·mîn)
Preposition-m | Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 1144: Benjamin -- 'son of the right hand', youngest son of Jacob, also the name of two other Israelites

a powerful man,
גִּבּ֖וֹר (gib·bō·wr)
Adjective - masculine singular construct
Strong's 1368: Powerful, warrior, tyrant

whose name
וּ֠שְׁמוֹ (ū·šə·mōw)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 8034: A name

was Kish
קִ֣ישׁ (qîš)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 7027: Kish -- father of Saul, also the name of several other Israelites

son
בֶּן־ (ben-)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 1121: A son

of Abiel,
אֲבִיאֵ֞ל (’ă·ḇî·’êl)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 22: Abiel -- 'El is my father', an Israelite name

the son
בֶּן־ (ben-)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 1121: A son

of Zeror,
צְר֧וֹר (ṣə·rō·wr)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 6872: A parcel, a kernel, particle

the son
בֶּן־ (ben-)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 1121: A son

of Becorath,
בְּכוֹרַ֛ת (bə·ḵō·w·raṯ)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 1064: Becorath -- 'first-born', a Benjamite

the son
בֶּן־ (ben-)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 1121: A son

of Aphiah
אֲפִ֖יחַ (’ă·p̄î·aḥ)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 647: Aphiah -- perhaps helpless

of Benjamin.
יְמִינִ֑י (yə·mî·nî)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3227: On the right hand


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OT History: 1 Samuel 9:1 Now there was a man of Benjamin (1Sa iSam 1 Sam i sa)
1 Samuel 8:22
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