Abner

Abner is introduced here as Saul's army commander and cousin — a powerful military figure whose loyalty to the house of Saul will outlast the king himself.

Abner is Saul's military commander, tasked with finding out whose son the unknown young fighter is — his admission that he doesn't know underscores how completely outside the expected story David was.

Abner is seated beside Saul at the royal feast, his presence alongside the king underscoring the formal court setting that makes David's absence all the more conspicuous.

Abner is identified as Saul's commanding general, sleeping alongside the entire army — his dereliction of duty becomes the target of David's public rebuke in the following scene.

Abner is referenced here as Joab's previous victim — the identical method of a fake greeting followed by a fatal blow reveals this is Joab's established pattern for eliminating rivals.

Abner is the power behind Ish-bosheth's throne, revealed here as the real force holding Saul's dynasty together — and the man who erupts when his loyalty is questioned over Rizpah.

Abner is now a dead man whose absence exposes how hollow Ish-bosheth's rule actually was — the entire northern kingdom's morale collapses the moment he is gone.

Abner appears here as a contributor to the dedicated treasury — his gifts preserved in the same storehouse as those of the man who eventually replaced the king he served.