1 Samuel 9:1

The name Benjamin is a combination, then, of two words, son and right hand: ben means "son" and jamin means "right hand."Let us remember once for all that the tribe of Benjamin was called Jemini. We read in the book of Kings [Samuel], where it speaks of Saul, the words "Now there was a man of Benjamin whose name was Saul, the son of Kish, the son of Abiel, son of Jethra, son of Jether, son of Gera, son of Jemini," and immediately following, it says, a man of Jemini, that is, from the tribe of Jemini, or Benjamin. … Now why have I said all this? To show that the tribe of Jemini was the tribe of Benjamin.

And there was a man from Benjamin named Kish, son of Abiel, etc. In this Saul the king, who was chosen by the people instead of Samuel, who persecuted David, committed other crimes, rejected David, and dying received a successor to the kingdom: he signifies the wickedness of the Jews, who, despising and persecuting both the prophets and the Lord, preferred to reign by themselves; therefore they left the kingdom of God, from which they were expelled, to a nation producing its fruits. Now, in that he was anointed with holy oil, delivering Israel from the enemy, he figuratively announces the Lord Jesus Christ. And therefore, the present reading, which contains the history of the anointing of Saul, but no mark of reproof: designates the high mysteries of the Lord Savior's descent from heaven for us men, and for our salvation, his reception of baptism from John, and the other lofty mysteries of the temporal dispensation. And primarily, the sense that is concerning the Lord, helps, because Saul came from Benjamin, who is said to be chosen and good; whether because Benjamin is interpreted as 'son of the right hand,' or because it is the smallest tribe in Israel; for grace is always generated in Christ by the humble in spirit, to whom the kingdom of heaven belongs.

When the person of the king to be appointed is set forth, why are the names of his fathers described, unless so that his kingdom might be perceived as not enduring? For concerning the kingdom which Moses had foreseen would come, he said: "The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor a ruler from his thigh, until he comes who is to be sent; and he shall be the expectation of the nations" (Gen. 49:10). Because therefore the tribe of Judah had been foreseen for the lasting duration of the kingdom, the lineage of Kish is mentioned, so that the royal dignity which was being established in his son might be openly known to be dispensatory, not permanent. But he who begets the carnal king, Kish—that is, "hard" as it is rendered in our language—is also proclaimed strong in might. Now also many carnal people are within the holy Church who seem to do great things; yet they are carnal because they do not have the grace of the Holy Spirit. They are therefore strong in might because everything which they seem to do greatly is bodily. For Kish the father of Saul is called strong in might so that he might be understood to have possessed great bodily strength. He who is strong in might, therefore, is hard, because he who displays great things carnally does not have a heart softened through compassion in fraternal charity. He acts powerfully in things which men outwardly cannot imitate, but inwardly he does not know how to be joined to fraternal minds through the affection of love. He does mighty things which God rejects, and he does not care to display the affection of charity which God approves. He is therefore hard, because while he does bodily things with a proud heart, the grace of the Holy Spirit does not soften his mind. Against this the holy man glories, saying: "God has softened my heart, and the Almighty has troubled me" (Job 23:16). And often those who imitate the ways of such people become rulers by the judgment of God. Whence also Saul is fittingly recorded to have been the son of Kish.