1 Samuel 13 · a question people ask
How old was Saul when he became king, and how long did he reign?
The WEB prints 13:1 as "Saul was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned over Israel forty-two years." The Hebrew of the verse has no word for thirty or for forty. Hebrew gives a person's age as ben, "son", of so many years: 4:15's "Eli was ninety-eight years old" is ben with the number, then shanah, "year". In 13:1 the Hebrew has ben shanah with no number between, and for the reign it has ushtei shanim, "two years". In the New Testament Paul says, "God gave to them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years" (Acts 13:21). No figure is chosen here: the verse is shown as the WEB prints it.
The verses
“Saul was thirty years old when he became king, and he reigned over Israel forty-two years.”
“Now Eli was ninety-eight years old. His eyes were set, so that he could not see.”
“Afterward they asked for a king, and God gave to them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years.”