Ahinoam the daughter of Ahimaaz

“And the name of Saul’s wife was Ahinoam the daughter of Ahimaaz” Samuel I 14 50
Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail "Their sons, and their daughters, were taken captives....And David's two wives were taken captives, Ahinoam the Jezreelitess, and Abigail the wife of Nabal the Carmelite" Shmuel 1 30 3-5

Ahimaaz (Ahinoams fother) – He was a high priest in Solomon’s Temple. He also served as a spy for David during the time of his son Absalom’s rebellion. 

Ahimaaz hid with Jonathan son of Abiathar in ‘Beer’ to escape from Absalom’s servants (2 Samuel 17). 

Moreover, the researcher August Klostermann attributes the writing of the Book of Samuel to Ahimaaz…

Saul’s senior wife, alongside whom Saul had a concubine named Rizpah daughter of Aiah.

Regarding the meaning of the name:

‘Noam’ = A title of God, He is good Ahi = my brother
signifying GOD is my brother or in the direction of God’s instruction – He is good.

Furthur expansion:

In the aftermath of the Battle of Gibeah, following the incident of the Levite’s concubine in Gibeah, the tribes of Israel swore not to give their daughters to the men of Benjamin. Only 600 men from the tribe of Benjamin remained after their death by their brothers. At this point, they realized that the tribe of Benjamin was on the brink of extinction unless they helped the survivors.

To save the remaining Benjamites, two actions were taken. First, as they had sworn to kill anyone who didn’t join them in the war against Benjamin, they had to fulfill this oath. So they went to war against the men of JabeshGilead, killed them all, and left 400 virgins for the men of Benjamin. However, 200 Benjaminite men were left without wives. They resolved this issue by sending the remaining Benjaminite men to kidnap wives from the daughters of Shiloh in the vineyards. Thus, they wouldn’t technically break the oath, as they hadn’t given their daughters willingly.

Saul, being from the tribe of Benjamin, was shy, modest, and righteous. He couldn’t abduct a woman. Achinoam, his future wife, was the one “who took the initiative and pursued him” (Rashi).

Besides this hidden criticism of Achinoam, the sages also learn from Saul’s curse on his son Jonathan:

“Then Saul’s anger was kindled against Jonathan, and he said unto him: ‘Thou son of perverse rebellion, do not I know that thou hast chosen the son of Jesse to thine own shame, and unto the shame of thy mother’s nakedness?” (1 Samuel 20:30). This indicates that Achinoam wasn’t considered a modest woman in Saul’s eyes.

Jonathan, along with Saul his father, was killed in the battle of Gilboa. Their bodies were hung on the walls of ‘Beth Shean’, but during the night, the men of Jabesh Gilead took the bodies and buried them in Jabesh Gilead. “And the Philistines followed hard upon Saul and upon his sons; and the Philistines slew Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Malchishua, the sons of Saul.” (1 Samuel 31:2).

Merav,her daughter, likely died young. Michal raised her children. Michal was barren, the only woman in the Bible who is said to have loved a man and was given to him – that man was David. However, she didn’t receive love from him in return. She was estranged for nine years, and even when she was given to another man, she never bore children.

A minority view suggests that Achinoam, Saul’s wife, is actually Achinoam the Jezreelitess, David’s wife. It is suggested that David married her shortly after declaring himself as Saul’s heir. This is also implied in the prophecy of Nathan the prophet to David: “And I gave you your master’s house and your master’s wives into your arms” (2 Samuel 12:8).