1 Samuel 14:47-51

14:47 After Saul had secured his royal position over Israel, he fought against all their ¹  enemies on all sides – the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, the kings of Zobah, and the Philistines. In every direction that he turned he was victorious. ²  14:48 He fought bravely, striking down the Amalekites and delivering Israel from the hand of its enemies. ³ 

Members of Saul’s Family

14:49 The sons of Saul were Jonathan, Ishvi, and Malki-Shua. ⁴  He had two daughters; the older one was named Merab and the younger Michal. 14:50 The name of Saul’s wife was Ahinoam, the daughter of Ahimaaz. The name of the general in command of his army was Abner son of Ner, Saul’s uncle. ⁵  14:51 Kish was the father of Saul, and Ner the father of Abner was the son ⁶  of Abiel.

1 Samuel 17:55

17:55 ⁷ Now as Saul watched David going out to fight the Philistine, he asked Abner, the general in command of the army, “Whose son is this young man, Abner?” Abner replied, “As surely as you live, O king, I don’t know.”

[14:47]  ¹ tn Heb “his,” which could refer to Israel or to Saul.

[14:47]  ² tc The translation follows the LXX (“he was delivered”), rather than the MT, which reads, “he acted wickedly.”

[14:48]  ³ tn Heb “plunderers.”

[14:49]  ⁴ sn The list differs from others. In 1 Sam 31:2 (= 1 Chr 10:2), Jonathan, Abinadab, and Malki-Shua are listed as Saul’s sons, while 1 Chr 8:33 and 9:39 list Jonathan, Malki-Shua, Abinadab, and Eshbaal.

[14:50]  ⁵ sn The word “uncle” can modify either Abner or Ner. See the note on the word “son” in v. 51 for further discussion.

[14:51]  ⁶ tn 1 Chr 9:35-36 indicates that Jeiel (= Abiel?) had two sons (among others) named Ner and Kish (see also 1 Sam 9:1 and 1 Chr 8:30, where some Greek manuscripts include the name Ner, though it is absent in the Hebrew text). If this Kish was the father of Saul and Ner was the father of Abner, then Saul and Abner were cousins. However, according to 1 Chr 8:33 and 9:39, Ner, not Abiel, was the father of Kish. In this case, Kish and Abner were brothers and Abner was Saul’s uncle. The simplest solution to the problem is to see two men named Kish in the genealogy: Abiel (Jeiel) was the father of Ner and Kish I. Ner was the father of Abner and Kish II. Kish II was the father of Saul. The Kish mentioned in 1 Sam 9:1 was the father of Saul (v.2) and must be identified as Kish II. In this case the genealogy is “gapped,” with Ner being omitted. Abiel was the grandfather of Kish II.

[17:55]  ⁷ tc Most LXX mss lack 17:55–18:5.