This verse alone does not make it entirely clear whether Abner or Ner was Saul’s uncle. Ner is called the son of Abiel (v. 51) and also of Jehiel (1 Chron. 9:35, 36); therefore it is probable that Abiel and Jehiel are two names for the same man (see on Ex. 2:18). Since Kish, the father of Saul, is also called “the son of Abiel” (1 Sam. 9:1), it might seem that Kish and Ner were brothers, but the record says that “Ner begat Kish” (1 Chron. 9:39). This apparent contradiction involves a difference not merely of names but of generations, for Ner is also called the son of Abiel. Yet this does not necessarily mean a conflict between the books of Samuel and Chronicles. As elsewhere in the Scriptures, independent accounts seem to differ in the details presented, but are found to harmonize when examined in the light of Hebrew customs and modes of thought and expression. There are two possible situations that might explain these differing names:

 (1) The list in 1 Sam. 9:1 may have omitted the name of Ner and recorded Kish as the (grand)son of Abiel, for “son” is sometimes used of a grandson or even a more remote descendant, and Bible genealogies do not always include every link in the chain (see on 1 Kings 19:16; Dan. 5:11, 13, 18; see also Vol. I, pp. 181, 186).

 (2) Kish the son of Ner may have become his grandfather’s son by adoption, as Joseph’s children Manasseh and Ephraim became the sons of Jacob and were listed among his sons as heads of tribes (Gen. 48:5, 6; Num. 1:10; Joshua 14:4).

 Either of these explanations, which would be in harmony with the facts given, would make Abner the uncle of Saul. For similar cases, see on Num. 10:29 and Matt. 1:12.