Kish

The name Kish belongs to several distinct figures in the Hebrew scriptures: a Benjamite whose son became Israel's first king, a separate Benjamite listed in the Chronicler's genealogies, two Levites of the line of Merari, and the great-grandfather of Mordecai. The UPDV preserves these as separate persons sharing a common name across the historical and genealogical books.

Father of Saul

The principal Kish is introduced as a Benjamite of standing: "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 man [of] Benjamin, a mighty man of valor" (1Sa 9:1). His son Saul, "a young and goodly man," stood "from his shoulders and upward... higher than any of the people" (1Sa 9:2). The narrative that brings Saul to Samuel begins with a domestic errand from his father: "And the donkeys of Kish, Saul's father, were lost. And Kish said to Saul his son, Take now one of the attendants with you, and arise, go seek the donkeys" (1Sa 9:3).

When Saul is publicly chosen by lot, his paternity is named as the marker of his identity: "the family of the Matrites was taken; and Saul the son of Kish was taken: but when they sought him, he could not be found" (1Sa 10:21).

The Tomb of Kish

Long after Saul's death, Kish reappears as the holder of the family burial place in Benjamin. When the bones of Saul and Jonathan are recovered and given a proper interment, they are laid "in the country of Benjamin in Zela, in the tomb of Kish his father: and they performed all that the king commanded. And after that God was entreated for the land" (2Sa 21:14).

A Benjamite of the Genealogies

The Chronicler lists a Kish among the sons of a Benjamite household at Gibeon, twice in nearly identical lists: "and his firstborn son Abdon, and Zur, and Kish, and Baal, and Ner, and Nadab" (1Ch 8:30; the same enumeration recurs at 1Ch 9:36).

Levites Named Kish

Two Levites of the line of Merari bear the name. The first stands at the head of a Mahlite branch: "The sons of Merari: Mahli and Mushi. The sons of Mahli: Eleazar and Kish. And Eleazar died, and had no sons, but daughters only: and their brothers the sons of Kish took them [as wives]" (1Ch 23:21-22). The same Kish appears again in the priestly courses, where his line is traced through a single named son: "Of Kish; the sons of Kish: Jerahmeel" (1Ch 24:29).

A second Levite Kish, son of Abdi, belongs to the Merarites who answered Hezekiah's summons to cleanse the temple: "Then the Levites arose, Mahath, the son of Amasai, and Joel the son of Azariah, of the sons of the Kohathites; and of the sons of Merari, Kish the son of Abdi, and Azariah the son of Jehallelel; and of the Gershonites, Joah the son of Zimmah, and Eden the son of Joah" (2Ch 29:12).

Ancestor of Mordecai

The last Kish stands at the head of Mordecai's Benjamite ancestry in the Persian court: "There was a certain Jew in Shushan the palace, whose name was Mordecai, the son of Jair, the son of Shimei, the son of Kish, a Benjamite" (Es 2:5).