Biblical Profile: Abner

Abner

Abner son of Ner was King Saul’s cousin as well as his general (1 Sam 14:49-52). Saul’s armies won important battles against the Philistines under Abner’s command (1 Sam 17:1-58), and Abner ate at the king’s table with David and Jonathan (1 Sam 20:24-25). Yet Jonathan and David both outshone Abner in Saul’s army.

David shamed Abner on one occasion (1 Sam 26:1-25). When Saul was in pursuit of David so as to kill him, he and his troops were camped in a circle with Saul sleeping at the center and Abner beside him. Abishai and David sneaked into the camp and could have killed Saul. They took some items from beside Saul’s head; then, after retreating, David shouted to waken Saul and Abner and berated Abner for his carelessness.

After Saul and Jonathan died, Abner promoted the interests of Saul’s son Ishbosheth (2 Sam 2:8-12) when the tribe of Judah made David king. During this time, Abner was the real power in the north. When Ishbosheth accused Abner of sleeping with one of Saul’s concubines, Abner turned the northern kingdom over to David. Ishbosheth was later murdered (4:1-12).

During the battle between Ishbosheth and David, Abner was forced in self-defense to kill Joab’s brother Asahel, whom he did not want to kill and had warned to turn back (2:18-32). Abner was then murdered by Joab in calculated revenge (3:22-30), an evil act that David could not prevent (see 3:38-39). David honored Abner with a eulogy, public mourning, and a state funeral (3:31-37). Later, David remembered what had happened and made certain that Joab did not go unpunished for the murder (1 Kgs 2:5-6).

Passages for Further Study

1 Sam 14:49-52; 17:55-58; 26:5-16; 2 Sam 2:8-29; 3:6-39; 1 Kgs 2:5, 32