The general of Saul’s army, his cousin Abner, has managed to survive the Battle of Gilboa and emerged as the most powerful figure of the northern tribes. Instead of unifying the nation under David, Abner decides to place Saul’s remaining son, Ish-Bosheth, on the throne of Israel (2:8–11). His reasons for doing so are not entirely clear, but later on even Ish-Bosheth suspects that Abner wanted the throne for himself (3:6–8). The name Ish-Bosheth means “man of shame,” but this was a later development, a sort of derogatory nickname. Originally his name was apparently Ish-Baal, or Esh-Baal, meaning “man of Baal” (1 Chron. 8:33). Baal was the name of a prominent Canaanite god, but in Hebrew the word also meant “lord” or “master”; it was even sometimes used to refer to God. It is not clear whet…