John Gills Exposition of the Bible 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 Antiqu. l. 6. c. 4. sect. 1. Cises; his name, according to Hillerus F11 Onomastic. Sacr. p. 405. , signifies "ensnared"; for what reason it was given him is not certain: the son of Abiel ; in 1 Chronicles 8:33 , he is called... read more
Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 1 Samuel 9:1-2
We are here told, 1. What a good family Saul was of, 1 Sam. 9:1. He was of the tribe of Benjamin; so was the New-Testament Saul, who also was called Paul, and he mentions it as his honour, for Benjamin was a favourite, Rom. 11:1; Phil. 3:5. That tribe had been reduced to a very small number by the fatal war with Gibeah, and much ado there was to provide wives for those 600 men that were the poor remains of it out of that diminished tribe, which is here called, with good reason, the smallest of... read more