In this section the editor gives a concluding summary concerning Saul as king, before narrating his deposition in the next chapter. In the editor's eyes, Saul ceased to be king de jure, when Samuel anointed David to supersede him. But, according to the older documents, David himself did not take this view (1 Samuel 24:6; 1 Samuel 26:11). Saul fought successfully against a number of the neighbouring tribes: Moab; Ammon; Edom; Zobah, a Syrian state to the NE. of Palestine; Philistines; Amalekites. Next, a list of Saul's children; here Ishvi is for Ishyo, a contraction of Ish-Yahweh, Man of Yahweh, the same as Ishbaal. In early times Baal was used quite innocently as a title of Yahweh (cf. Hosea 2:16). In 2 Samuel 23, etc., the name is given in the form Ishbosheth, Man of Shame, the later Jews expressing their repugnance to Baal by substituting bosheth for his name (Numbers 32:38 *, 1 Kings 16:32 *). Then we are told that the commander-in-chief was the king's cousin: we should probably follow Josephus (Ant. VI. vi. 6) in reading 1 Samuel 14:51 as And Kish, the father of Saul, and Ner, the father of Abner, were the sons of Abiel. Ner is Saul's uncle, not (as 1 Chronicles 8:33; 1 Chronicles 9:36) Abner (Driver and Cent.B).
1 Samuel 14:52. The ancient narrative, continues 1 Samuel 14:46.