Border with Joab Stabbing Abner

Having asked Abner, the commander of King Saul's army, to meet him in front of the gate to Hebron for a private conference, Joab, commander of King David's army, treacherously stabs him in the back. Although the Bible states that Joab stabbed Abner from the front, Simon Bening placed the two men almost in an embrace, with Joab reaching behind Abner to kill him, emphasizing his deceit. The composition thus directly echoes Judas's betraying kiss seen on the opposite page, linking the Old and New Testament stories.