father · noun, common masculine singular construct
Saul
שָׁא֛וּלsha.'Ul
H7586
Shaul · proper noun, a man's name
Ner
וְנֵ֥רve.Ner
H5369
Ner · conjunction + proper noun, a man's name
father
אֲבִֽי'a.vi-
H1
father · noun, common masculine singular construct
Abner
אַבְנֵ֖ר'av.Ner
H74
Abner · proper noun, a man's name
son
בֶּןben-
H1121
a son (as a builder of the family name) · noun, common masculine singular construct
Abiel
אֲבִיאֵֽל'a.vi.'El
H22
Abiel · proper noun, a man's name
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
1 Samuel 9:1 Now there was a man of Benjamin, whose name was Kish, the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Bechorath, the son of Aphiah, a Benjami…
1 Samuel 9:21 And Saul answered and said, Am not I a Benjamite, of the smallest of the tribes of Israel? and my family the least of all the families of th…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on 1 Samuel 14:47–end
Here is a general account of Saul's court and camp. 1. Of his court and family, the names of his sons and daughters (Sa1 14:49), and of his wife and his cousin-german that was general of his army, Sa1 14:50. There is mention of another wife of Saul's (Sa2 21:8), Rizpah, a secondary wife, and of the children he had by her. 2. Of his camp and military actions. (1.) How he levied his army: When he saw any strong valiant man, that was remarkably fit for service, he took him unto him (Sa1 14:52), as Samuel had told them the manner of the king would be (Sa1 8:11); and, if he must have a standing army, it was his prudence to fill it up with the ablest men he could make choice of. (2.) How he employ…
So Saul . . . fought against all his enemies on every side--This signal triumph over the Philistines was followed, not only by their expulsion from the land of Israel, but by successful incursions against various hostile neighbors, whom he harassed though he did not subdue them.
Next: 1 Samuel Chapter 15
Adam Clarke on 1 Samuel 14:49
Now the sons of Saul - We do not find Ishbosheth here. Calmet says it was "because he was too young, and did not go with him to the war, for he mentions only those who were with him." Why then mention his daughters and his wife? Did they go with him to the war?
John Gill on 1 Samuel 14:51
And Kish was the father of Saul,.... See 1 Samuel 9:1.
and Ner the father of Abner was the son of Abiel; this Abiel was the father both of Kish and Ner, and the grandfather of Saul, see 1 Samuel 9:1.
Keil & Delitzsch on 1 Samuel 14:47–end
General Summary of Saul's other Wars, and Account of his Family. - Sa1 14:47. "But Saul had taken the sovereignty." As Saul had first of all secured a recognition of himself as king on the part of all the tribes of Israel, through his victory over the Ammonites at Jabesh (Sa1 11:12.), so it was through the victory which he had gained over the Philistines, and by which these obstinate foes of Israel were driven back into their own land, that he first acquired the kingship over Israel, i.e., first really secured the regal authority over the Israelites. This is the meaning of המּלוּכה לכד; and this statement is not at variance either with the election of Saul by lot (Sa1 10:17.), or with his co…
The Church Fathers
But what does it mean that he is called a cousin of Saul? A cousin is one who is born from the brother of one's father. Hence here too it is added: 'Kish was the father of Saul, and Ner the father of Abner was the son of Abiel.' And when a king to be chosen was sought, it was said: "And there was a man named Kish, the son of Abiel" (1 Samuel 9:1). Since we have more fully explained what these names of the royal lineage signify, let us only set forth how Abner is said to be Saul's cousin. Now Saul is known to be the son of Kish, that is, of "the hard one"; Abner also is said to be the son of "a lamp." We have shown that "the hard one" designates men of excessively austere manner of life, and that Ner is interpreted as "lamp." What then does it mean that "lamp" and "the hard one" are said to be sons of the same father, except that both what Holy Scripture commands as austere and the outward strength of a hard manner of life come from God? For "the hard one" is the brother of "the lamp," because the grace of fulfilling the law comes from Him from whom the law itself has its origin. Hence the Psalmist also confidently promises, saying: "For He who gave the law will also give a blessing" (Psalm 84:7). For to give the law is to set forth the precepts of life to the elect, and to give a blessing is to bestow the grace of fulfilling the law. Since therefore both the light of Scripture and the harshness of our life come from One, Kish and Ner are said to be sons of one father. Therefore Abner, the son of Ner, is rightly said to be the cousin of King Saul, because he who is chosen for the care of souls is judged as needing to be of a hard and austere life. But those who desire to be helpers of preachers never accomplish what they desire if they do not bring to completion the light of Holy Scripture, in which they were conceived through knowledge, in good works and holy preaching, as if by being born. But since the knowledge of the Holy Scriptures is ascribed more to the chief teachers than to their subordinate helpers, and following examples of conduct seems to befit the lesser rather than the greater, what does it mean that the king is called the son of "the hard one," while the prince of the king is called the son of "the lamp"? But by these words it does not signify what the chief teachers and their helpers possess, but, passing over what they possess, it sets…
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Abiel — Father (i.e., “possessor”) of God = “pious.” (1.) The son of Zeror and father of Ner, who was the grandfather of Saul (1 Sam. 14:51; 1 Chr. 8:33; 9:39). In 1 Sam. 9:1, he is called the “father,”…
Abiel Or Abiel — (father of strength, i.e. strong).
Abner — Father of light; i.e., “enlightening”, the son of Ner and uncle of Saul. He was commander-in-chief of Saul’s army (1 Sam. 14:50; 17:55; 20:25). He first introduced David to the court of Saul after…
Kish — A bow. (1.) A Levite of the family of Merari (1 Chr. 23:21; 24:29). (2.) A Benjamite of Jerusalem (1 Chr. 8:30; 9:36). (3.) A Levite in the time of Hezekiah (2 Chr. 29:12). (4.) The great-grandfather…
Moabite — The designation of a tribe descended from Moab, the son of Lot (Gen. 19:37). From Zoar, the cradle of this tribe, on the south-eastern border of the Dead Sea, they gradually spread over the region on…
Ner — Light, the father of Kish (1 Chr. 8:33). 1 Sam. 14:51 should be read, “Kish, the father of Saul, and Ner, the father of Abner, were the sons of Abiel.” And hence this Kish and Ner were brothers, and…
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
Ahinoam is mentioned only here in Saul’s story. In 25:43, David marries a woman also called Ahinoam (who might or might not have been the same person; cp. 2 Sam 12:8).
Rashi on 1 Samuel 14:50
Avineir the son of Neir. Neir was Shaul's uncle, the brother of Kish, and both were the sons of Avieil. Aviei was also known as Neir, in Divrei Hayomim,33I Divrei Hayomim 8:33. because he would light candles for the public in the dark streets.34 See Radak above 9:1.
