Saul in the Bible Encyclopedia - ISBE

I. Early History. 1. Name and Meaning: The name Saul is usually regarded as simply the passive participle of the verb "to ask," and so meaning "asked" (compare 1 Sam 8:4 ff), but the gentilic adjective sha'uli (Nu 26:13) would point to its having also an intensive connotation, "the one asked importunately," or perhaps, "the one asking insistently," "the beggar." 2. Genealogy: Saul was the son of Kish, a Benjamite. His genealogical tree is given in 1 Sam 9:1 (compare Septuagint 10:21). In 1 Sam 9:1 his grandfather is Abiel, but in 1 Ch 8:33; 9:39, Ner, who appears as his paternal uncle in 1 Sam 14:50,51. The last verse contains a very curious scribal error, a yodh having slipped out of one word in it into another. It states that both Abner and Ner were sons of Abiel. These apparent inconsistencies are to be explained by the fact that in Hebrew, as in Arabic, "son" is often used in the sense of grandson. Also, with the facility of divorce then prevalent, by "brother" and "sister" we must in most cases understand half-brother and half-sister. Moreover, Saul's mother might have been the wife at different times of Kish and of his brother Ner (compare 1 Sam 20:30). This was quite common, and in some cases compulsory (Dt 25:5-9)...