2 Samuel 17 explained: Two Advisers Decide a War

Ahithophel's quick strike (vv. 1-4)

Ahithophel, once David's own trusted adviser, proposes attacking that very night while David is exhausted, killing only the king so the nation will simply switch sides. It was shrewd advice, and Absalom and the leaders liked it.

Hushai's slower plan (vv. 5-13)

Hushai, secretly loyal to David, warns that David's veterans are as dangerous as a mother bear robbed of her cubs, and that one early setback could panic Absalom's troops. Instead he urges raising the whole nation, with Absalom leading it himself, to fall on David as completely as dew covers the ground.

Absalom chooses (v. 14)

Absalom's council picks Hushai's plan, which mainly buys David time to regroup. The writer says plainly that the LORD was behind this choice, steering events toward Absalom's downfall.

A warning smuggled out (vv. 15-22)

Hushai's message passes through the priests' sons, who are spotted and hide in a dry well while a woman covers it with grain and sends the searchers the wrong way. The warning reaches David, and his whole company crosses the Jordan River before dawn.

Ahithophel's end (v. 23)

Ahithophel seems to have seen that the delay meant Absalom would lose, and that he would be blamed as the rebellion's chief planner, so he went home, settled his affairs, and hanged himself. Some Christians have read this alongside the death of Judas, who also betrayed his master.

Armies and allies gather (vv. 24-29)

David settles at Mahanaim east of the Jordan, while Absalom makes Amasa, a cousin of David's commander Joab, his general. Three local leaders bring beds and food: Shobi, probably a son of the former Ammonite king; Makir, who once sheltered Saul's grandson; and a wealthy old man named Barzillai.

Key verse: 2 Samuel 17:14

Something to think about

Hushai's speech mixed real points about David's experience with vivid, sweeping images. When you weigh advice, how do you tell what is true from what simply sounds compelling?