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Ishbaal and Abner Quarrel. During the war between the house of Saul and the house of David, Abner was gaining power in the house of Saul. Now Saul had had a concubine, Rizpah, the daughter of Aiah. And Ishbaal, son of Saul, said to Abner, “Why have you slept with my father’s concubine?”[a](A) Enraged at the words of Ishbaal, Abner said, “Am I a dog’s head from Judah? As of today, I have been loyal to the house of Saul your father, to his brothers and his friends, and I have kept you out of David’s clutches; and today you charge me with a crime involving a woman! May God do thus to Abner, and more, if I do not carry out for David what the Lord swore to him—(B) 10 that is, take away the kingdom from the house of Saul and establish the throne of David over Israel as well as Judah, from Dan to Beer-sheba.”(C) 11 Ishbaal was no longer able to say a word to Abner, he feared him so.

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Footnotes

  1. 3:7 Asserting a right to the late king’s harem was tantamount to claiming his kingship; cf. 16:21–22; 1 Kgs 2:21–22.