Abner

Sha'ul's wife was named Achino'am the daughter of Achima'atz; the commander of his army was named Avner the son of Ner, Sha'ul's uncle.

Kish was the father of Sha'ul, and Ner the father of Avner was the son of Avi'el.

When Sha'ul saw David go out to fight the P'lishti, he said to Avner, the army's commander, "Avner, whose son is this boy?""By your life, O king," Avner replied, "I don't know."

David returned from killing the P'lishti, Avner took him and brought him to Sha'ul with the head of the P'lishti in his hand.

The king sat at his usual place by the wall. Y'honatan stood up, and Avner sat next to Sha'ul, but David's place was empty.

David set out and went to where Sha'ul had pitched his camp. He saw where Sha'ul and Avner the son of Ner, the commander of his army, were sleeping. Sha'ul was lying inside the barricade with the troops asleep all around him.

So David and Avishai went to the soldiers by night. Sha'ul was lying there asleep inside the barricade. His spear was stuck in the ground next to his head, with Avner and the troops asleep all around him.

Then David called out to the troops and to Avner the son of Ner. "Avner! Aren't you going to answer?" Avner answered, "Who are you, calling to the king?"

David said to Avner, "Aren't you the brave one! Who is there in Isra'el to compare with you? So why haven't you kept watch over your lord the king? Someone came in to kill the king, your lord!

Avner the son of Ner, commander of Sha'ul's army, had taken Ish-Boshet the son of Sha'ul, brought him over to Machanayim,

Avner the son of Ner and the servants of Ish-Boshet the son of Sha'ul went out from Machanayim to Giv'on;

Avner said to Yo'av, "If it's all right with you, let's have the young men get up and fight it out between themselves, while we watch." Yo'av said, "Yes, let them."

The battle that day was very fierce; Avner and the men of Isra'el were beaten by David's servants.

'Asah'el chased Avner, going straight for him, veering neither right nor left.

Avner looked behind him and asked, "Is that you, 'Asah'el?""Yes, it is," he answered.

Avner said to him, "Turn off to your right or your left, catch one of the young men and take his armor." But 'Asah'el wouldn't turn aside and kept following him.

Avner said again to 'Asah'el, "Turn aside and stop following me! Why should I kill you? If I did, how could I look your brother Yo'av in the eye?"

But he still refused to turn aside; so Avner stabbed him in the groin with the back end of the spear, so that the shaft protruded behind him. He fell down and died on the spot. Everyone who came to the place where 'Asah'el lay dead stopped there.

Yo'av and Avishai continued in pursuit of Avner; the sun went down when they arrived at Amah Hill, across from Giach along the Giv'on Desert road.

The people of Binyamin gathered themselves together into a phalanx behind Avner and stood on top of a hill.

Then Avner called out to Yo'av, "Must the sword go on devouring forever? Don't you know that in the end it can produce only bitterness? How long will it be, then, before you tell the people to quit pursuing their brothers?"

Avner and his men went through the 'Aravah all that night; they crossed the Yarden, went through all of Bitron and arrived at Machanayim.

Yo'av returned from following Avner. When he brought the troops together for review, nineteen of David's servants were missing, along with 'Asah'el.

But David's servants had killed 360 of Avner's men of Binyamin.

During the war that was going on between the house of Sha'ul and the house of David, Avner strengthened his position in the house of Sha'ul.