THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES - Chapter 13 - Verse 21

Verse 21. And afterward they desired a king. See 1 Sa 8:5; Hos 13:10. It was predicted that they would have a king, De 17:14,15.

Saul the son of Cis. Cis is the Greek mode of writing the Hebrew name Kish. In the Old Testament it is uniformly written Kish; and it is to be regretted that this has not been retained in the New Testament. See 1 Sa 9:1.

By the space of forty years. During forty years. The Old Testament has not mentioned the time during which Saul reigned. Josephus says (Antiq. b. vi. chap. xiv & 9) that he reigned eighteen years while Samuel was alive, and twenty-two years after his death. But Dr. Doddridge (Note in loco) has shown that this cannot be correct, and that he probably reigned, as some copies of Josephus have it, but two years after the death of Samuel. Many critics suppose that the term of forty years here mentioned, includes also the time in which Samuel judged the people. This supposition does not violate the text in this place, and may be probable. See Doddridge and Grotius on this place.

{h} "desired a king" 1 Sa 8:5 {i} "Saul, the son of Cis" 1 Sa 8:5 {+} "space of forty years" "during"