Ahithophel
“Brother of foolishness”
Summary
David's trusted counselor whose wisdom was considered like an oracle from God, but who betrayed the king by joining Absalom's rebellion and hanged himself when his advice was rejected.
☩Counselor of Wisdom
Ahithophel of Giloh served as David's privy counselor, and his wisdom was renowned throughout Israel. Scripture records that 'the counsel of Ahithophel, which he counseled in those days, was as if a man had inquired at the oracle of God'—such was the esteem in which both David and Absalom held his advice.
☩Motive for Treachery
Ahithophel was grandfather to Bathsheba through his son Eliam, one of David's mighty men. His defection to Absalom may have been motivated by resentment over David's sin with his granddaughter and the murder of Uriah. When news of his joining the rebellion reached David, the king prayed earnestly that God would turn Ahithophel's counsel to foolishness.
☩Counsel to Absalom
Ahithophel's advice to Absalom was characteristically shrewd. He urged the prince to publicly appropriate David's concubines to make reconciliation impossible, then proposed to personally lead 12,000 men in immediate pursuit of the weary king. His strategy would have succeeded had not Hushai, David's loyal friend acting as a spy, persuaded Absalom to reject it.
☩Suicide
When Absalom chose Hushai's counsel over his, Ahithophel saw with perfect clarity that the rebellion was doomed. He returned to his house in Giloh, set his affairs in order, and hanged himself—becoming one of only a few suicides recorded in Scripture. His worldly wisdom, apart from faith in God, turned to suicidal madness.
Related Verses17 mentions
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Ahithophel," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. I (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 2.Andrew Robert Fausset, "Ahithophel," in The Englishman's Critical and Expository Bible Cyclopædia (Hodder & Stoughton, 1878).
- 3.James Orr (ed.), "Ahithophel," in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, vol. I (Howard-Severance Company, 1915).
- 4.George Morrish, "Ahithophel," in Morrish's Concise Bible Dictionary (George Morrish, 1898).