Kish(cis)
“Bow, or possibly a trap”
Summary
A name borne by several men in the Old Testament, most notably the father of King Saul, Israel's first king.
☩Father of King Saul
The most prominent Kish in Scripture was a wealthy and powerful Benjamite, son of Ner and father of King Saul. He belonged to the family of the Matrites within the tribe of Benjamin. The narrative of his life is sparse, mentioning only that he sent his son Saul to search for strayed donkeys, an errand that led providentially to Saul's meeting with Samuel and his subsequent anointing as king. Kish was buried at Zelah, and the bones of both Saul and Jonathan were later interred in his family sepulcher. In the New Testament, the name appears as "Cis" in the Authorized Version when Paul refers to "Saul the son of Cis."
☩Other Men Named Kish
Several other individuals bore this name. A Benjamite of Jerusalem (or its northern neighborhood), the son of Jehiel of Gibeon by his wife Maacah, appears to be the uncle of Saul's father. A Levite named Kish was the son of Mahli the Merarite, whose sons married their cousins, the heiresses of his brother Eleazar, since Eleazar died without sons. Another Merarite Levite named Kish, son of Abdi, assisted King Hezekiah in restoring true worship and sanctifying the temple. Finally, a Benjamite named Kish appears as the great-grandfather of Mordecai in the book of Esther.
Related Verses18 mentions
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Kish," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. V (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 2.James Orr (ed.), "Kish," in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, vol. III (Howard-Severance Company, 1915).
- 3.George Morrish, "Kish," in Morrish's Concise Bible Dictionary (George Morrish, 1898).
- 4.Andrew Robert Fausset, "Kish," in The Englishman's Critical and Expository Bible Cyclopædia (Hodder & Stoughton, 1878).
- 5.James Hastings (ed.), "Kish," in Dictionary of the Apostolic Church, vol. I (T. & T. Clark, 1915–1918).