Charles Ellicott Commentary Acts 13:21

"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." — Acts 13:21 (ASV)

Saul the son of Cis, a man of the tribe of Benjamin.—It is natural to think of the Apostle as dwelling on the memory of the hero-king of the tribe to which he himself belonged. (Compare Philippians 3:5.) The very fact that he had so recently renounced the name, would bring the associations connected with it more vividly to his recollection.

Forty years.—The duration of Saul’s reign is not given in the Old Testament, but Ish-bosheth, his youngest son (1 Chronicles 8:33), was forty years old at the time of Saul’s death (2 Samuel 2:10), and Saul himself was a “young man” when chosen as king (1 Samuel 9:2). A more definite corroboration of St. Paul’s statement is given by Josephus (Ant. vi. 14, § 9), who states that he reigned eighteen years before Samuel’s death and twenty-two after it.