A character in the
Hebrew Bible/
Old Testament. Abner, son of
Ner, was
Saul's cousin and commander of his armies. After Saul's death Abner took
Ishbaal* or
Ish-bosheth and made him king over
Israel. There was a war between the supporters of Ishbaal and David. During that struggle Abner killed
Asahel one of the sons of
Zeruiah which led to a blood feud betweed him and
Joab. Ishbaal accused Abner of sleeping with one of the royal concubines
Rizpah which caused a split between them. After that Abner deflected to David's side. Abner helps David to get his wife
Michal back, and worked to get all of Israel to support his claim to kingship. Joab, with help from his brother
Abishai, plots and kills Abner, both out of revenge for his brother Asahel, and to get rid of possible rivals to his posisition as head of David's armies. David ordered an official day of mourning for Abner after his murder.
*Ishbaal: Heb Ish-bosheth, Ishbaal means "man of the lord", while Ish-bosheth "man of shame" . The element "baal" would have suggested the Canaanite god Baal who the writers of the Deuteronomistic History particually disliked.