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Acts 13:21

in Acts 13

Then the people asked for a king, and God gave them forty years under Saul son of Kish, from the tribe of Benjamin.

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And afterward they asked for a king: and God gave unto them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for the space of forty years.

KJV

And afterward they desired a king: and God gave unto them Saul the son of Cis, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, by the space of forty years.

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This verse in Acts 13

Commentary

3 notes on this verse
And afterward they desired a king - See 1Sa 8:5; Hos 13:10. It was predicted that they would have a king, Deu 17:14-15. Saul, the son of Cis - is the Greek mode of writing the Hebrew name Kish. In the Old Testament it is uniformly written as “Kish,” and it is to be regretted that this has not been retained in the New Testament. See 1Sa 9:1. By the space of forty years - During forty years. The Old Testament has not mentioned the time during which Saul reigned.

This site's exposition

four hundred and fifty years

on Acts 13:20-21

The four hundred and fifty years covering the judges period is Paul's own round figure for a span the Old Testament itself does not total explicitly, and harmonizing it with 1 Kings 6:1's four hundred and eighty years from the exodus to Solomon's temple has occupied commentators since antiquity without a settled consensus. Saul, the first king, is named by tribe, of Benjamin, and by length of reign, forty years, a figure the Old Testament narrative also does not state directly but which Josephus preserves independently. Paul's history lesson is moving quickly toward its real destination, David, named for the first time in the next verse.

The record, by era

The Nineteenth Century1 voice

A commentator

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

God gave . . . them Saul . . . of the tribe of Benjamin--That the speaker was himself of the same name and of the same tribe, has often been noticed as in all likelihood present to the apostle's mind while speaking. forty years--With this length of Saul's reign (not mentioned in the Old Testament), JOSEPHUS coincides [Antiquities, 6.14.9].

The words behind it

18 Greek words

Every Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

12 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

1 Samuel 9:15Now on the day before Saul’s arrival, the LORD had revealed to Samuel,10 works1 Samuel 10:1Then Samuel took a flask of oil, poured it on Saul’s head, kissed him, and said, “Has not the LORD anointed you ruler over His inheritance?8 works1 Samuel 9:1Now there was a Benjamite, a powerful man, whose name was Kish son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Becorath, the son of Aphiah of Benjamin.6 works1 Samuel 15:1Then Samuel said to Saul, “The LORD sent me to anoint you king over His people Israel. Now therefore, listen to the words of the LORD.4 works1 Samuel 12:12–19But when you saw that Nahash king of the Ammonites was moving against you, you said to me, ‘No, we must have a king to rule over us’—even though the LORD your God was your king.3 works1 Samuel 11:15So all the people went to Gilgal and confirmed Saul as king in the presence of the LORD. There they sacrificed peace offerings before the LORD, and Saul and all the Israelites rejoiced greatly.3 works
The other 6 cross-references, with their words ▾
1 Samuel 8:5“Look,” they said, “you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint a king to judge us like all the other nations.”3 works1 Samuel 10:21–26Then he had the tribe of Benjamin come forward by its clans, and the clan of Matri was selected. Finally, Saul son of Kish was selected. But when they looked for him, they could not find him.3 works1 Chronicles 8:33Ner was the father of Kish, Kish was the father of Saul, and Saul was the father of Jonathan, Malchishua, Abinadab, and Esh-baal.3 works1 Samuel 9:17When Samuel saw Saul, the LORD told him, “Here is the man of whom I spoke; he shall rule over My people.”3 works1 Samuel 12:13Now here is the king you have chosen, the one you requested. Behold, the LORD has placed a king over you.2 works2 Samuel 21:6let seven of his male descendants be delivered to us so that we may hang them before the LORD at Gibeah of Saul, the chosen of the LORD.” “I will give them to you,” said the king.2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.

  • Through

    1 Samuel 10:1

    Then Samuel took a flask of oil, poured it on Saul’s head, kissed him, and said, “Has not the LORD anointed you ruler over His inheritance?

    it leads to

    • 1 Samuel 9:16

      “At this time tomorrow I will send you a man from the land of Benjamin, and you are to anoint him leader over My people Israel; he will save them from the hand of…

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • 1 Samuel 16:13

      So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon David from that day forward. Then Samuel set out and…

    • Psalms 78:71

      from tending the ewes He brought him to be shepherd of His people Jacob, of Israel His inheritance.

    • Psalms 2:12

      Kiss the Son, lest He be angry and you perish in your rebellion, when His wrath ignites in an instant. Blessed are all who take refuge in Him.

  • Through

    1 Samuel 11:15

    So all the people went to Gilgal and confirmed Saul as king in the presence of the LORD. There they sacrificed peace offerings before the LORD, and Saul and all the Israelites rejoiced greatly.

    it leads to

    • 1 Samuel 10:8

      And you shall go before me to Gilgal, and surely I will come to you to offer burnt offerings and to sacrifice peace offerings. Wait seven days until I come to you and show…

    • 1 Samuel 10:17

      After this, Samuel summoned the people to the LORD at Mizpah

  • Through

    1 Samuel 8:5

    “Look,” they said, “you are old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint a king to judge us like all the other nations.”

    it leads to

    • Deuteronomy 17:14–15

      When you enter the land that the LORD your God is giving you and have taken possession of it and settled in it, and you say, “Let us set a king over us like…

  • Through

    1 Samuel 15:1

    Then Samuel said to Saul, “The LORD sent me to anoint you king over His people Israel. Now therefore, listen to the words of the LORD.

    it leads to

    • 1 Samuel 12:14

      If you fear the LORD and serve Him and obey His voice, and if you do not rebel against the command of the LORD, and if both you and the king who reigns over…

Where this verse is studied

About Acts

The Ascension — Gustave Doré (engraving, public domain)
The Ascension — Gustave Doré (engraving, public domain)
Acts: the study guide →Read Acts 13 →

This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Albert Barnes, Notes on Acts; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible and Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews.

Read on in Acts 13 →