Atlas Biblica

    person

    Abner

    אֲבִינֵר

    Abner, the son of Ner, was King Saul's cousin and the commander of his army; he later supported Saul's son Ish-bosheth as king before defecting to David.

    Illustration2 Samuel 3Joab kills Abner at the gateway of Hebron after drawing him aside to speak privately.
    verses
    53
    first named
    1 Samuel 14:50
    last named
    1 Chronicles 27:21
    period
    United Monarchy
    tribe
    Benjamin

    Description

    Who was Abner?

    In the words of STEPBible TIPNR:

    Abner was the son of Ner and the cousin of King Saul, Israel's first monarch. He served as the commander of Saul's army (1Sa.14.50-51). Abner was a prominent figure during Saul's reign and demonstrated his loyalty to the king, as seen in his interactions with David (1Sa.17.55-57; 20.25; 26.5-15).

    After Saul's death, Abner supported Saul's son Ish-bosheth as king over Israel, while David reigned over Judah (2Sa.2.8-10). During this time, there was a long war between the houses of Saul and David (2Sa.3.1). Abner led Ish-bosheth's forces against David's army, commanded by Joab (2Sa.2.12-17). In a battle at Gibeon, Abner killed Joab's brother Asahel, who had pursued him (2Sa.2.18-23).

    Later, Abner defected to David after a dispute with Ish-bosheth (2Sa.3.6-21). He worked to transfer the kingdom to David and made an agreement with him (2Sa.3.12-21). However, Joab, seeking revenge for his brother's death, murdered Abner (2Sa.3.22-27). David mourned Abner's death and declared his innocence in the matter (2Sa.3.28-39).

    Abner's defection and death weakened Ish-bosheth's position, and he was eventually assassinated (2Sa.4.1-8). This paved the way for David to become king over all Israel (2Sa.5.1-5). David later reminded Solomon of Joab's actions against Abner (1Ki.2.5, 32). Abner is also mentioned in connection with the treasures dedicated to the Lord (1Ch.26.28) and as the father of Jaasiel, a leader in David's army (1Ch.27.21).

    Relations

    Direct connections

    Every entity the graph places in a stated relation with this one, grouped by the kind of link. Each relation is authored once and its inverse derived, so both ends always agree. Rows marked “registry” come from the identity spine rather than from a verse, and a row marked “which bearer is the source’s decision” is one where the name could have meant more than one person. The last group is not a relation at all — it counts the events two entities stand in together.

    How the graph connects Abner10 of 25 entities the graph connects to Abner, in one group: events 10. Kinship, company and ground are stated relations; events counts the acts two entities stand in together and is not a relation. Each mark is sized by how many verses name that entity and labelled with the link and the count, so the grouping and the size are both readable without colour. Distance from the centre carries nothing.Israel3 events · 2,578 versesDavid21 events · 964 versesSaul5 events · 327 versesSword1 event · 254 versesGathering1 event · 180 versesJordan1 event · 179 versesJoab10 events · 120 versesHebron4 events · 57 versesAbishai2 events · 24 versesAsahel4 events · 14 versesAbner

    The 10 best-attested of 25 are drawn. All 25 are listed below.

    Child of

    Father of

    Took part in

    Stands in the same events as

    and 14 more, ordered by how many events they share.

    Places

    Where this happens

    The places the claims about this person reach, drawn where the gazetteer locates them. A point is where a row puts them and never where tradition does; no line joins two points, because the rows state where and not in what order.

    Where the story of Abner happensAll 6 places the claims about Abner reach, on a map of the world the text moves through, framed to them: Hebron, Mahanaim, Ammah, Arabah, Jordan, Sirah. Each dot is a coordinate from the gazetteer, sized by how many rows put Abner there. The coastline is a modern one, simplified; no border, road or settlement of any period is drawn, and no line joins two points, because the rows state where and not in what order.HebronMahanaimAmmahArabahJordanSirah
    United MonarchyAll 6 places the claims about Abner reach

    Read it

    Where to read it

    Every verse of the text carried here that names this entity — 53, across 4 books. The name is written 63 times in them.

    1. 1 Samuel9 verses

      14:5014:5117:5517:5720:2526:526:726:1426:15

    2. 2 Samuel40 verses

      2:82:122:142:172:192:202:212:222:232:242:252:262:292:302:313:63:73:83:93:113:123:163:173:193:203:213:223:233:243:253:263:273:283:303:313:323:333:374:14:12

    3. 1 Kings2 verses

      2:52:32

    4. 1 Chronicles2 verses

      26:2827:21

    Onward

    Where this page goes

    Not the direct relations above — these are one hop further out, ranked so that a rare shared connection outweighs a common one. Descriptions by STEPBible TIPNR.

    via Abner’s coming to see and Abner and Abner Men’s going, and 4 moreDavidAnointed king of Israel, ancestor of Jesus Christvia Abner’s protection of Saul and David, Heads Of Families, Army Commanders, Samuel, Saul, Abner, and Joab’s dedication, and 2 moreSaulFirst king of Israel, anointed by Samuelvia Abner’s striking of Asahel and Asahel’s chase of AbnerAsahelSon of Zeruiah, brother of Joab, killed by Abnervia David, Heads Of Families, Army Commanders, Samuel, Saul, Abner, and Joab’s dedication and Joab’s killing of Abner and AmasaJoabSon of Zeruiah, commander of David's armyvia Abner’s protection of SaulProtectionProtection is a concept gathering 11 labelled instances in the text.via David’s sending of AbnerSendingSending is a concept gathering 488 labelled instances in the text.via Abner’s striking of AsahelStrikingStriking is a concept gathering 84 labelled instances in the text.via King and Saul’s eatingEatingEating is a concept gathering 96 labelled instances in the text.via Abner and Abner Men’s goingGoingGoing is a concept gathering 321 labelled instances in the text.

    Where they appear

    Chapter by chapter

    Atlas's reading of each chapter this person appears in, in canonical order. One line per chapter, and each leads to the whole of it.

    Sources

    What this rests on