ABNER, SON OF NER, AND BURIAL SITE

medieval portrait of Abner (in green),
courtesy, Wikipedia

In the Hebrew Bible, Abner was the cousin of King Saul and the commander-in-chief of his, and later David’s army. He was buried in Hebron not far from the Cave of Machpelah and, along with Machpelah, was a place of Jewish pilgrimage for thousands of years.

According to the Book of Samuel, Abner was initially mentioned as the son of Ner, Saul's uncle, and the commander of Saul's army. He is next mentioned as the commander who introduced David to Saul following David's killing of Goliath. After Saul’s death in the Battle of Gilboa, Abner set up Saul’s youngest son, Ishboshet (or Eshbaal) as king over all Israel at Mahanaim, east of the Jordan. David, who was accepted as king by Judah alone, was meanwhile reigning at Hebron, and for some time civil war was carried on between the two parties. In this war, Abner was defeated and put to flight. He was closely pursued by Asahel, brother of Joab, who is said to have been "light of foot as a wild roe". As Asahel would not desist from the pursuit, though warned, Abner was compelled to slay him in self-defence. This originated a deadly feud between the leaders of the opposite parties, for Joab, as next of kin to Asahel, was by the law and custom of the country the avenger of his blood. Ish-bosheth, for his part, accused Abner of sleeping with Rizpah, one of Saul's concubines, an alliance which, according to contemporary notions, would imply pretensions to the throne. Abner was indignant at the rebuke, and immediately opened negotiations with David, who welcomed him on the condition that his wife Michal should be restored to him. This was done, and the proceedings were ratified by a feast. Abner then granted David control over the tribe of Benjamin putting him in David's favor. Almost immediately after, however, Joab, who had been sent away, perhaps intentionally returned and slew Abner at the gate of Hebron in revenge for Asahel (although he should have been safe from such a revenge killing. Hebron was a City of Refuge). Although David had no part in this, he could not venture to punish its perpetrators. David had Abner buried in Hebron, as it states in Samuel 3:31-32, "And David said to all the people who were with him, 'Rend your clothes and gird yourselves with sackcloth, and wail before Abner.' And King David went after the bier. And they buried Abner in Hebron, and the king raised his voice and wept on Abner's grave, and all the people wept."

In the middle of the first century of the common era, one of the most prominent families in Jerusalem, Zizit haKesat, claimed descent from Abner (Gen. R. xcviii.). Throughout the centuries, many travelers have recorded visiting Abner’s tomb. Benjamin of Tudela, who began his journeys in 1165, wrote in the journal, "The valley of Eshkhol is north of the mountain upon which Hebron stood, and the cave of Makhpela is east thereof. A bow-shot

Tomb of Abner in Hebron, courtesy, Shavei Hebron

west of the cave is the sepulchre of Abner the son of Ner." Rabbi Jacob ben Netanel Hacohen in the same period, records visiting the tomb and states, "I…journeyed with much difficulty, but God helped me to enter the Holy Land, and I saw the graves of our righteous Patriarchs in Hebron and the grave of Abner the son of Ner." Rabbi Moses Basola records visiting the tomb in 1522, "Abner's grave is in the middle of Hebron; the Muslims built a mosque over it." However, another visitor of the same period states that "at the entrance to the market in Hebron, at the top of the hill against the wall, Abner ben Ner is buried, in a church, in a cave." This visit was recorded in Sefer Yihus ha-Tzaddiqim (Book of Genealogy of the Righteous), a collection of travelogues from 1561. Menahem Mendel of Kamenitz, considered the first hotelier in the Land of Israel, wrote about the Tomb of Abner in his 1839 book Korot Ha-Itim, "Here I write of the graves of the righteous to which I paid my respects. Hebron – Described above is the character and order of behavior of those coming to pray at the Cave of ha-Machpelah. I went there, between the stores, over the grave of Avner ben Ner and was required to pay a Yishmaeli (“Arab” ed.) – the grave was in his courtyard – to allow me to enter." The author and traveler J. J. Benjamin mentioned visiting the tomb in his book Eight Years in Asia and Africa (1859), "On leaving the Sepulchre of the Patriarchs, and proceeding on the road leading to the Jewish quarter, to the left of the courtyard, is seen a Turkish dwelling house, by the side of which is a small grotto, to which there is a descent of several steps. This is the tomb of Abner, captain of King Saul. It is held in much esteem by the Arabs, and the proprietor of it takes care that it is always kept in the best order. He requires from those who visit it a small gratuity." The British scholar Israel Abrahams wrote in his 1912 book The Book of Delight and Other Papers, "Hebron was the seat of David's rule over Judea. Abner was slain here by Joab, and was buried here – they still show Abner's tomb in the garden of a large house within the city. By the pool at Hebron were slain the murderers of Ishbosheth..."

Over the years the tomb fell into disrepair and neglect. It was closed to the public in 1994. In 1996, a group of 12 Israeli women filed a petition with the Supreme Court requesting the government to reopen the Tomb of Abner. More requests were made over the years and eventually the Zionists and Arabs reluctantly agreed to open the site to Jews only ten days throughout the year corresponding to the ten days that the Isaac Hall of the Cave of the Patriarchs is open. In early 2007 new mezuzot were affixed to the entrance of the site (illegally from the Zionist perspective).