With Abner dead, Ishbaal is left without support or initiative. Those who hoped for Saul’s dynasty are unsettled, and those looking forward to the union with David, organized by Abner, are unsure about what will happen next. King Ishbaal, powerless and barely conscious, dies quietly in his sleep. In the borrowed capital of Transjordan, in a palace guarded by an unarmed and drowsy woman. How different this is from Saul and Jonathan’s death in battle! The writers, who favor David, systematically highlight his innocence in the bloodshed of his main rivals; this innocence is underscored by the elimination of those who killed Saul’s leaders—Saul himself, his general, and his son Ishbaal.