(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;
14:51; compare
Ac 13:21;
1Sa 10:21). According to
1Ch 8:33 and
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.