KISH

KISH (Heb. קִיש), Benjaminite from Gibeah, father of King Saul. He is variously described as the son of Abiel (I Sam. 9:1), Jeiel (I Chron. 9:35), and Ner (I Chron. 8:33; 9:39). In I Chronicles 9:35 Jeiel is the keri for the ketiv Jeuel, the latter having the same vowel points as Abiel, indicating either Jeiel or Abiel. The correct reading is probably Abiel (cf. I Sam. 9:1). According to I Samuel 14:50–51, Ner is not the father of Kish but his brother, which agrees with I Chronicles 9:36 where Kish is mentioned before Ner, implying that Kish was the older brother of Ner. The Bible does not say very much about Kish, except that he was a man of wealth, possessing servants and asses (I Sam. 9:1–3). Saul is mentioned as "the son of Kish" in I Samuel 10:11, among other places. The sepulcher of Kish was at Zela, in the country of Benjamin (II Sam. 21:14), which was probably the landed property of his family. Both Saul and his son Jonathan were to be buried at this place (II Sam. 21:14). The Akkadian adjective qīšu, "given as a present," "granted" (derived from the verb qâšu, "to deed," "grant") is attested in Akkadian personal names and provides a good etymology for the biblical name. -ADD. BIBLIOGRAPHY: CAD K, 280; D. Edelman, in: ABD, 4:85–87.