Abner

Means “my father is a light” in Hebrew, from אָב (‘av) meaning “father” and נֵר (ner) meaning “lamp, light”. In the Bible, Abner (Hebrew: אַבְנֵר‎ ’Avner) was the cousin of King Saul and the commander-in-chief of his army (1Samuel 14, 50 ; 20, 25). His name also appears as אבינר בן נר‎ “Abiner son of Ner”, where the longer form Abiner means “my father is Ner”.

 

Abner was the son of Ner and cousin of Saul, the first king of Israel, and both belonged to the small and proud tribe of Benjamin. After Saul and two of his sons were defeated and fell in battle against the Philistines at Mount Gelboe, Abner imposed as king of Israel the weak Is-Baal (or Isboset), another son of Saul, and acted as general for him, rising to be the true ruler of the land. He went so far as to take for himself a concubine of Saul, an act considered a usurpation of royal prerogatives, and when Is-Baal asked him to account for it, Abner reacted with indignation, openly threatening to put him down. In the meantime David had returned from exile and had been acclaimed king of Judah at Hebron. Abner marched against him to regain the southern part of the kingdom of Israel, but at the pool of Gibeon he was forced to flee by the army of Judah commanded by Joab. Abner then decided to take David’s side: he persuaded the elders of Israel to leave Is-Baal and went himself to David to transfer the kingdom to him, being received with honor. But Joab, David’s general, had lost his brother Asahel in battle at the hands of Abner, and decided to take revenge. He drew him aside and, together with his brother Abishai, murdered him. This was against the wishes of David, who lamented the infamous killing of Abner.