Reference: Ahithophel
American
A native of Giloh, originally one of David's most intimate and valued friends; but upon the defection and rebellion of Absalom, he espoused the cause of that prince, and became one of David's bitterest enemies. Being disappointed that Absalom did not follow his sagacious advice, and foreseeing the issue of the rebellion, he hanged himself, 2Sa 15:12; 17; Ps 55:12-14. Ahithophel seems to have been the grandfather of Bathsheba. 2Sa 23:34, compared with 2Sa 11:3.
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David sent word to inquire about her, and someone told him, "This is Eliam's daughter Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah the Hittite, isn't it?"
Absalom also sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David's counselor, to come from his home town of Giloh while Absalom was presenting the sacrificial offerings. And so the conspiracy widened, because the common people increasingly sided with Absalom.
For it is not an enemy who insults me I could have handled that nor is it someone who hates me and who now arises against me I could have hidden myself from him but it is you a man whom I treated as my equal my personal confidant, my close friend! read more. We had good fellowship together; and we even walked together in the house of God!
Easton
brother of insipidity or impiety, a man greatly renowned for his sagacity among the Jews. At the time of Absalom's revolt he deserted David (Ps 41:9; 55:12-14) and espoused the cause of Absalom (2Sa 15:12). David sent his old friend Hushai back to Absalom, in order that he might counteract the counsel of Ahithophel (2Sa 15:31-37). This end was so far gained that Ahithophel saw he had no longer any influence, and accordingly he at once left the camp of Absalom and returned to Giloh, his native place, where, after arranging his wordly affairs, he hanged himself, and was buried in the sepulchre of his fathers (2Sa 17:1-23). He was the type of Judas (Ps 41:9).
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Absalom also sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David's counselor, to come from his home town of Giloh while Absalom was presenting the sacrificial offerings. And so the conspiracy widened, because the common people increasingly sided with Absalom.
Just then, someone told David, "Ahithophel is one of Absalom's conspirators!" So David prayed, "LORD, please turn Ahithophel's counsel into foolishness." Just as David was coming to the top of the Mount of Olives where God was being worshipped, there was Hushai the Archite to meet him, with his coat ripped and dust all over his head! read more. David greeted him, "If you come along with me, you'll be a burden to me. So go back to the city and tell Absalom, "I'll be your servant, your majesty! Just as I served your father in the past, I can be your servant now.' That way you can manipulate Ahithophel's advice to my benefit. Won't Zadok and Abiathar the priests be there with you? So whatever you hear from the king's palace, you're to report to Zadok and Abiathar the priests. Their two sons Zadok's son Ahimaaz and Abiathar's son Jonathan are with them there. You'll be sending me everything that you hear through them." So David's friend Hushai went back to the city just as Absalom was arriving in Jerusalem.
"I'll catch him while he is still tired and weak. I'll frighten him so all his people with him desert him. But I'll only kill the king. Then I'll bring everybody else back to you. When the man you're looking for is dead, all the rest of the people will return quietly." read more. Even though this plan seemed like a good idea to Absalom and to all of the elders of Israel, Absalom replied, "Call in Hushai the Archite so I can hear what he has to say, too!" When Hushai approached Absalom, Absalom asked him, "Here's what Ahithophel had to advise. Should we do what he says? Or if not, say so!" "Ahithophel's advice is not best at this time," Hushai suggested to Absalom. "You know how strong your father and his men are. They're as mad as a bear robbed of her cubs! Furthermore, your father is a skilled warrior. He won't stay with his army at night. Look! He's probably already hiding in a cave or someplace like that. If the first attack fails, people will hear about it and think, "Absalom's army is losing!' Then even men who would otherwise be as brave as lions will be scared, because every Israeli knows your father is a mighty man, and they know his men are valiant! So here's my advice: Muster everybody from one end of the country to the other! You'll have an army in number like the sand on the seashore! Then you'll go into battle! We'll go find David wherever he's hiding. We'll fall on him like dew on the ground! We'll kill him and all of his men, and we won't leave even one man alive! If he escapes into a city, we'll bring ropes to that city and tear it down! We won't leave a single stone left in the valley!" Absalom and all of the Israelis replied, "The advice of Hushai the Archite is better than Ahithophel's!" But the LORD had planned to circumvent the sound advice of Ahithophel so the LORD could bring Absalom to destruction. So Hushai told Zadok and Abiathar, the priests, what Ahithophel had suggested to Absalom and the elders of Israel. He also reported what he himself had proposed. Hushai said, Now Ahithophel's advice that he provided at that time was being compared to one who inquired of God, so highly regarded was Ahithophel's counsel by both David and Absalom.
"Quick! Get word to David! Tell him not to spend the night at the crossings that lead to the desert. Instead, he must cross the Jordan River immediately. That way, if he crosses the river, the king and his entourage will survive." "Give me 12,000 men! I'll leave tonight and pursue David," Ahithophel advised Absalom.
Meanwhile, since they could not risk being seen entering the city, Jonathan and Ahimaaz had been waiting at En-rogel, where a young servant woman was to go to inform them and they would then go brief King David. But a young man observed Jonathan and Ahimaaz and informed Absalom, so they left in a hurry, arrived at the home of a man who lived at Bahurim, and hid inside a well that was in his courtyard. read more. The man's wife grabbed a sheet, covered the mouth of the well with it, and spread some dried grain over it. As a result, nobody could tell it was a hiding place. When Absalom's servants approached the woman of the house, they asked her, "Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?" "They've already crossed the brook," the woman answered. So Absalom's servants went away in search of Jonathan and Ahimaaz, but they couldn't find them, so they returned to Jerusalem. A little while later, the men crawled up out of the well and went off to talk to King David. They told David, "Get up! Cross the water quickly, because this is what Ahithophel advised about you"" So David got up and all of his entourage crossed the Jordan River. Everyone had crossed the Jordan River by dawn's first light. Meanwhile, when Ahithophel observed that his counsel was not being acted upon, he saddled his donkey, got up, and left for his hometown. Leaving behind a set of orders for his household, he hanged himself. After his death he was buried in his father's tomb.
As for my best friend, the one in whom I trusted, the one who ate my bread, even he has insulted me!
As for my best friend, the one in whom I trusted, the one who ate my bread, even he has insulted me!
For it is not an enemy who insults me I could have handled that nor is it someone who hates me and who now arises against me I could have hidden myself from him but it is you a man whom I treated as my equal my personal confidant, my close friend! read more. We had good fellowship together; and we even walked together in the house of God!
Fausets
(See ABSALOM.) Of Giloh, in the hill country of Judah. David's counselor, to whose treachery he touchingly alludes Ps 41:9; 55:12-14,20-21. His name means brother of foolishness, but his oracular wisdom was proverbial. David's prayer "turned his counsel" indeed into what his name indicated, "foolishness" (2Sa 15:31; Job 5:12-13; 1Co 1:20). Ahithophel was the mainspring of the rebellion. Absalom calculated on his adhesion from the first (2Sa 15:12); the history does not directly say why, but incidentally it comes out: he was father of Eliam (or by transposition Ammiel, 1Ch 3:5), the father of Bathsheba (2Sa 11:3; 23:34,39).
Uriah the Hittite and Eliam, being both of the king's guard (consisting of 37 officers), were intimate, and Uriah married the daughter of his brother officer. How natural Ahithophel's sense of wrong toward David, the murderer of his grandson by marriage and the corrupter of his granddaughter! The evident undesignedness of this coincidence confirms the veracity of the history. The people's loyalty too was naturally shaken toward one whose moral character they had ceased to respect. Ahithophel's proposal himself to pursue David that night with 12,000 men, and smite the king only, indicates the same personal hostility to David, deep sagacity and boldness. He failed from no want of shrewdness on his part, but from the folly of Absalom. His awful end shows that worldly wisdom apart from faith in God turns into suicidal madness (Isa 29:14). He was the type of Judas in his treachery and in his end. (See JUDAS.)
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David sent word to inquire about her, and someone told him, "This is Eliam's daughter Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah the Hittite, isn't it?"
David sent word to inquire about her, and someone told him, "This is Eliam's daughter Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah the Hittite, isn't it?"
Absalom also sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David's counselor, to come from his home town of Giloh while Absalom was presenting the sacrificial offerings. And so the conspiracy widened, because the common people increasingly sided with Absalom.
Absalom also sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David's counselor, to come from his home town of Giloh while Absalom was presenting the sacrificial offerings. And so the conspiracy widened, because the common people increasingly sided with Absalom.
Just then, someone told David, "Ahithophel is one of Absalom's conspirators!" So David prayed, "LORD, please turn Ahithophel's counsel into foolishness."
Just then, someone told David, "Ahithophel is one of Absalom's conspirators!" So David prayed, "LORD, please turn Ahithophel's counsel into foolishness."
He reigned 33 years in Jerusalem. These four children were born to David by Bath-shua daughter of Ammiel while he was living in Jerusalem: Shimea, Shobab, Nathan, and Solomon,
He reigned 33 years in Jerusalem. These four children were born to David by Bath-shua daughter of Ammiel while he was living in Jerusalem: Shimea, Shobab, Nathan, and Solomon,
He frustrates the plans of the crafty; so that what they work for never succeeds.
He frustrates the plans of the crafty; so that what they work for never succeeds. He captures the wise in their own craftiness, bringing a quick end to their cunning advice.
He captures the wise in their own craftiness, bringing a quick end to their cunning advice.
As for my best friend, the one in whom I trusted, the one who ate my bread, even he has insulted me!
As for my best friend, the one in whom I trusted, the one who ate my bread, even he has insulted me!
For it is not an enemy who insults me I could have handled that nor is it someone who hates me and who now arises against me I could have hidden myself from him
For it is not an enemy who insults me I could have handled that nor is it someone who hates me and who now arises against me I could have hidden myself from him but it is you a man whom I treated as my equal my personal confidant, my close friend!
but it is you a man whom I treated as my equal my personal confidant, my close friend! We had good fellowship together; and we even walked together in the house of God!
We had good fellowship together; and we even walked together in the house of God!
Each of my friends raises his hand against his allies; each of my friends breaks his word.
Each of my friends raises his hand against his allies; each of my friends breaks his word. His mouth is as smooth as butter, while war is in his heart. His words were as smooth as olive oil, while his sword is drawn.
His mouth is as smooth as butter, while war is in his heart. His words were as smooth as olive oil, while his sword is drawn.
Therefore, watch out! "As for me, I will once again do amazing things with this people, wonder upon wonder. The wisdom of their wise men will perish, and the insights of their discerning men will stay hidden."
Therefore, watch out! "As for me, I will once again do amazing things with this people, wonder upon wonder. The wisdom of their wise men will perish, and the insights of their discerning men will stay hidden."
Through the Son, God also reconciled all things to himself, whether things on earth or things in heaven, thereby making peace through the blood of his cross.
Through the Son, God also reconciled all things to himself, whether things on earth or things in heaven, thereby making peace through the blood of his cross.
Hastings
David's counsellor (2Sa 15:12; 1Ch 27:33), whose advice was deemed infallible (2Sa 16:23). Being Bathsheba's grandfather, he had been alienated by David's criminal conduct (2Sa 11:3; 23:34), and readily joined Absalom (2Sa 15:12). Ahithophel advised the prince to take possession of the royal harem, thus declaring his father's deposition, and begged for a body of men with whom he might at once overtake and destroy the fugitive monarch (2Sa 17:1-3). Hushai thwarted this move (2Sa 17:11). Disgusted at the collapse of his influence, and foreseeing that this lack of enterprise meant the failure of the insurrection, Ahithophel withdrew, set his affairs in order, and hanged himself (2Sa 17:23).
J. Taylor.
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David sent word to inquire about her, and someone told him, "This is Eliam's daughter Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah the Hittite, isn't it?"
Absalom also sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David's counselor, to come from his home town of Giloh while Absalom was presenting the sacrificial offerings. And so the conspiracy widened, because the common people increasingly sided with Absalom.
Absalom also sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David's counselor, to come from his home town of Giloh while Absalom was presenting the sacrificial offerings. And so the conspiracy widened, because the common people increasingly sided with Absalom.
"I'll catch him while he is still tired and weak. I'll frighten him so all his people with him desert him. But I'll only kill the king. Then I'll bring everybody else back to you. When the man you're looking for is dead, all the rest of the people will return quietly."
So here's my advice: Muster everybody from one end of the country to the other! You'll have an army in number like the sand on the seashore! Then you'll go into battle!
Meanwhile, when Ahithophel observed that his counsel was not being acted upon, he saddled his donkey, got up, and left for his hometown. Leaving behind a set of orders for his household, he hanged himself. After his death he was buried in his father's tomb.
Morish
Ahith'ophel
A Gilonite, grandfather of Bathsheba, and a very wise counsellor of David, of whom it is said that all his counsel was "as if a man had inquired at the oracle of God." He joined in the rebellion of Absalom, and advised him to go in publicly to David's concubines, and to let him make an immediate attack on David. The latter counsel not being followed, and a preference being given to the advice of Hushai, who was acting for David, Ahithophel returned to his house, set his household in order, and hanged himself. 2Sa 15:12-34; 16:15-23; 17:1-23; 23:34. He has generally been taken as foreshadowing Judas of the N.T.: cf. Ps 41:9; 55:12.
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Absalom also sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David's counselor, to come from his home town of Giloh while Absalom was presenting the sacrificial offerings. And so the conspiracy widened, because the common people increasingly sided with Absalom. Then a messenger arrived to inform David, "The loyalties of the men of Israel have shifted to Absalom." read more. So David told all of his staff who were with him in Jerusalem, "Let's get up and get out of here! Otherwise, none of us will escape from Absalom. Hurry, or he'll overtake us quickly, bring disaster on all of us, and execute the inhabitants of the city!" "Look!" the king's staff replied. "Your servants will do whatever the king chooses." So the king left, taking his entire household with him except for ten mistresses, who were to keep the palace in order. The king left, along with all of his people with him, and they paused at the last house. All of his staff were going on ahead of him that is, all of the special forces and mercenaries, all of the Gittites, and 600 men who had come to serve him from Gath, went on ahead of the king. Then the king suggested to Ittai the Gittite, "Why should you have to go with us? Return and stay with the new king, since you're a foreigner and exile. Stay where you want to stay. It seems only yesterday that you arrived, so should I make you wander around with us while I go wherever I can? Go back, and take your brothers with you. May gracious love and truth accompany you!" "As the LORD lives," Ittai answered in reply, "and as your majesty the king lives, wherever your majesty my king may be whether living or dying that's where your servant will be!" So David replied, "Come along, then!" So Ittai the Gittite went along also, accompanied by all of his men and all of his little ones. With all of the people in the territory crying loudly, everybody passed over the Kidron brook, along with the king. Then everyone headed out toward the road that leads to the wilderness. Meanwhile, Zadok showed up also, along with all of the descendants of Levi with him, carrying the Ark of the Covenant of God. They set down the Ark of God and Abiathar approached while all the people finished abandoning the city. The king told Zadok, "Take the Ark of God back to the city. If I'm shown favor in the LORD's sight, then he'll bring me back again and show me both it and the place where it rests. But if he should say something like "I'm not pleased with you,' well then, here I am let him do to me whatever seems right to him." The king also asked Zadok the priest, "Aren't you a seer, too? Go back to the city in comfort, along with your son Ahimaaz and Abiathar's son Jonathan. Look! I'll camp at the wilderness fords until you send word to inform me." So Zadok and Abiathar returned the Ark of God to Jerusalem and remained there. David then left, going up the Mount of Olives, crying as he went, with his head covered and his feet bare. All of the people who were with him covered their own heads and climbed up the Mount of Olives, crying as they went along. Just then, someone told David, "Ahithophel is one of Absalom's conspirators!" So David prayed, "LORD, please turn Ahithophel's counsel into foolishness." Just as David was coming to the top of the Mount of Olives where God was being worshipped, there was Hushai the Archite to meet him, with his coat ripped and dust all over his head! David greeted him, "If you come along with me, you'll be a burden to me. So go back to the city and tell Absalom, "I'll be your servant, your majesty! Just as I served your father in the past, I can be your servant now.' That way you can manipulate Ahithophel's advice to my benefit.
Right about then, Absalom and his entourage from the people of Israel entered Jerusalem, accompanied by Ahithophel. When David's friend Hushai the Archite approached Absalom, Hushai greeted Absalom, "Long live the king! Long live the king!" read more. But Absalom asked Hushai, "So this is how you demonstrate your loyalty to your closest friends? Why didn't you leave with your friend?" Hushai replied, "No! On the contrary, whomever the LORD, this group, and all the men of Israel choose is where I'll be, and I'll remain with him! Besides, who else should I be serving? Why not the son? The same way I served your father, I'll serve you." So Absalom asked Ahithophel, "What's your advice? What should we do?" Ahithophel responded, "Go inside and have sex with your father's mistresses, whom he left to keep the palace in order. Then everyone in Israel will hear how your father has come to hate you and everyone who has joined you will be emboldened to act." So they erected a tent for Absalom on the palace roof and Absalom went in and had sex with his father's mistresses right in front of all Israel.
"I'll catch him while he is still tired and weak. I'll frighten him so all his people with him desert him. But I'll only kill the king. Then I'll bring everybody else back to you. When the man you're looking for is dead, all the rest of the people will return quietly." read more. Even though this plan seemed like a good idea to Absalom and to all of the elders of Israel, Absalom replied, "Call in Hushai the Archite so I can hear what he has to say, too!" When Hushai approached Absalom, Absalom asked him, "Here's what Ahithophel had to advise. Should we do what he says? Or if not, say so!" "Ahithophel's advice is not best at this time," Hushai suggested to Absalom. "You know how strong your father and his men are. They're as mad as a bear robbed of her cubs! Furthermore, your father is a skilled warrior. He won't stay with his army at night. Look! He's probably already hiding in a cave or someplace like that. If the first attack fails, people will hear about it and think, "Absalom's army is losing!' Then even men who would otherwise be as brave as lions will be scared, because every Israeli knows your father is a mighty man, and they know his men are valiant! So here's my advice: Muster everybody from one end of the country to the other! You'll have an army in number like the sand on the seashore! Then you'll go into battle! We'll go find David wherever he's hiding. We'll fall on him like dew on the ground! We'll kill him and all of his men, and we won't leave even one man alive! If he escapes into a city, we'll bring ropes to that city and tear it down! We won't leave a single stone left in the valley!" Absalom and all of the Israelis replied, "The advice of Hushai the Archite is better than Ahithophel's!" But the LORD had planned to circumvent the sound advice of Ahithophel so the LORD could bring Absalom to destruction. So Hushai told Zadok and Abiathar, the priests, what Ahithophel had suggested to Absalom and the elders of Israel. He also reported what he himself had proposed. Hushai said, Now Ahithophel's advice that he provided at that time was being compared to one who inquired of God, so highly regarded was Ahithophel's counsel by both David and Absalom.
"Quick! Get word to David! Tell him not to spend the night at the crossings that lead to the desert. Instead, he must cross the Jordan River immediately. That way, if he crosses the river, the king and his entourage will survive." "Give me 12,000 men! I'll leave tonight and pursue David," Ahithophel advised Absalom.
Meanwhile, since they could not risk being seen entering the city, Jonathan and Ahimaaz had been waiting at En-rogel, where a young servant woman was to go to inform them and they would then go brief King David. But a young man observed Jonathan and Ahimaaz and informed Absalom, so they left in a hurry, arrived at the home of a man who lived at Bahurim, and hid inside a well that was in his courtyard. read more. The man's wife grabbed a sheet, covered the mouth of the well with it, and spread some dried grain over it. As a result, nobody could tell it was a hiding place. When Absalom's servants approached the woman of the house, they asked her, "Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?" "They've already crossed the brook," the woman answered. So Absalom's servants went away in search of Jonathan and Ahimaaz, but they couldn't find them, so they returned to Jerusalem. A little while later, the men crawled up out of the well and went off to talk to King David. They told David, "Get up! Cross the water quickly, because this is what Ahithophel advised about you"" So David got up and all of his entourage crossed the Jordan River. Everyone had crossed the Jordan River by dawn's first light. Meanwhile, when Ahithophel observed that his counsel was not being acted upon, he saddled his donkey, got up, and left for his hometown. Leaving behind a set of orders for his household, he hanged himself. After his death he was buried in his father's tomb.
As for my best friend, the one in whom I trusted, the one who ate my bread, even he has insulted me!
For it is not an enemy who insults me I could have handled that nor is it someone who hates me and who now arises against me I could have hidden myself from him
Smith
Ahith'ophel
(brother of foolishness), a native of Giloh, was a privy councillor of David, whose wisdom was highly esteemed, though his name had an exactly opposite signification.
(B.C. 1055-1023.) He was the grandfather of Bathsheba. Comp.
with 2Sam 23:34 Ahithophel joined the conspiracy of Absalom against David, and persuaded him to take possession of the royal harem,
and recommended an immediate pursuit of David. His advice was wise; but Hushai advised otherwise. When Ahithophel saw that Hushai's advice prevailed, he despaired of success, and returning to his own home "put his household in order and hanged himself."
See Verses Found in Dictionary
David sent word to inquire about her, and someone told him, "This is Eliam's daughter Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah the Hittite, isn't it?"
Ahithophel responded, "Go inside and have sex with your father's mistresses, whom he left to keep the palace in order. Then everyone in Israel will hear how your father has come to hate you and everyone who has joined you will be emboldened to act."
"I'll catch him while he is still tired and weak. I'll frighten him so all his people with him desert him. But I'll only kill the king. Then I'll bring everybody else back to you. When the man you're looking for is dead, all the rest of the people will return quietly." read more. Even though this plan seemed like a good idea to Absalom and to all of the elders of Israel, Absalom replied, "Call in Hushai the Archite so I can hear what he has to say, too!" When Hushai approached Absalom, Absalom asked him, "Here's what Ahithophel had to advise. Should we do what he says? Or if not, say so!" "Ahithophel's advice is not best at this time," Hushai suggested to Absalom. "You know how strong your father and his men are. They're as mad as a bear robbed of her cubs! Furthermore, your father is a skilled warrior. He won't stay with his army at night. Look! He's probably already hiding in a cave or someplace like that. If the first attack fails, people will hear about it and think, "Absalom's army is losing!' Then even men who would otherwise be as brave as lions will be scared, because every Israeli knows your father is a mighty man, and they know his men are valiant! So here's my advice: Muster everybody from one end of the country to the other! You'll have an army in number like the sand on the seashore! Then you'll go into battle! We'll go find David wherever he's hiding. We'll fall on him like dew on the ground! We'll kill him and all of his men, and we won't leave even one man alive! If he escapes into a city, we'll bring ropes to that city and tear it down! We won't leave a single stone left in the valley!" Absalom and all of the Israelis replied, "The advice of Hushai the Archite is better than Ahithophel's!" But the LORD had planned to circumvent the sound advice of Ahithophel so the LORD could bring Absalom to destruction. So Hushai told Zadok and Abiathar, the priests, what Ahithophel had suggested to Absalom and the elders of Israel. He also reported what he himself had proposed. Hushai said, Now Ahithophel's advice that he provided at that time was being compared to one who inquired of God, so highly regarded was Ahithophel's counsel by both David and Absalom.
"Quick! Get word to David! Tell him not to spend the night at the crossings that lead to the desert. Instead, he must cross the Jordan River immediately. That way, if he crosses the river, the king and his entourage will survive." "Give me 12,000 men! I'll leave tonight and pursue David," Ahithophel advised Absalom.
Meanwhile, since they could not risk being seen entering the city, Jonathan and Ahimaaz had been waiting at En-rogel, where a young servant woman was to go to inform them and they would then go brief King David. But a young man observed Jonathan and Ahimaaz and informed Absalom, so they left in a hurry, arrived at the home of a man who lived at Bahurim, and hid inside a well that was in his courtyard. read more. The man's wife grabbed a sheet, covered the mouth of the well with it, and spread some dried grain over it. As a result, nobody could tell it was a hiding place. When Absalom's servants approached the woman of the house, they asked her, "Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?" "They've already crossed the brook," the woman answered. So Absalom's servants went away in search of Jonathan and Ahimaaz, but they couldn't find them, so they returned to Jerusalem. A little while later, the men crawled up out of the well and went off to talk to King David. They told David, "Get up! Cross the water quickly, because this is what Ahithophel advised about you"" So David got up and all of his entourage crossed the Jordan River. Everyone had crossed the Jordan River by dawn's first light. Meanwhile, when Ahithophel observed that his counsel was not being acted upon, he saddled his donkey, got up, and left for his hometown. Leaving behind a set of orders for his household, he hanged himself. After his death he was buried in his father's tomb.
Watsons
AHITHOPHEL, a native of Giloh, who, after having been David's counsellor, joined in the rebellion of Absalom, and assisted him with his advice. Hushai, the friend of David, was employed to counteract the counsels of Ahithophel, and to deprive Absalom, under a pretence of serving him, of the advantage that was likely to result from the measures which he proposed. One of these measures was calculated to render David irreconcilable, and was immediately adopted; and the other to secure, or to slay him. Before the last counsel was followed, Hushai's advice was desired; and he recommended their assembling together the whole force of Israel, putting Absalom at their head, and overwhelming David by their number. The treacherous counsel of Hushai was preferred to that of Ahithophel; with which the latter being disgusted he hastened to his house at Giloh, where he put an end to his life. He probably foresaw Absalom's defeat, and dreaded the punishment which would be inflicted on himself as a traitor, when David was resettled on the throne, A.M. 2981. B.C. 1023. 2Sa 15:17.