The big picture
Absalom, the rebel son of King David, hears two plans for hunting down his father. Ahithophel, his adviser, urges an attack at once. Hushai, David's friend working inside the rebel court, argues for delay and a larger force. Absalom accepts Hushai's plan. Secret messengers warn the displaced king to cross Jordan, the river ahead of him. Ahithophel dies after his advice is rejected. David reaches Mahanaim, a place of refuge, where three supporters meet the needs of his weary followers.
In this chapter
- Ahithophel Urges an Immediate Strike 2 Samuel 17:1-4
Ahithophel asks to take twelve thousand men after David that night.
- Hushai Wins Time for David 2 Samuel 17:5-14
Hushai says David and his men are fierce fighters, not helpless fugitives.
- Hidden Messengers Reach the King 2 Samuel 17:15-22
Hushai tells the priests both plans and urges them to warn David.
- The Armies Move and Ahithophel Dies 2 Samuel 17:23-26
Ahithophel sees that his advice will not be followed.
- Three Supporters Feed the Weary Group 2 Samuel 17:27-29
At Mahanaim, Shobi, Machir and Barzillai bring supplies to David.
Central truth
God overturns the advice that threatens David, while loyal messengers and generous supporters help the fleeing king and his people survive.
Scripture beside the summary
2 Samuel · King James Version · 292 Samuel 17:1-4
Ahithophel Urges an Immediate Strike
Ahithophel asks to take twelve thousand men after David that night. He plans to strike while the king is tired and his followers are afraid. He expects the people to scatter, leaving David to be killed alone. Then he will bring the rest back to Absalom. His promise of peace depends on the father's death. Absalom and the elders like the plan. The advice offers a quick end to the revolt's main danger before David has time to rest or gather strength.
In everyday life
A takeover strategist unrolls route maps in a cycling team's service van. He urges the sponsor to replace its leader before the next race and offers to handle the talks overnight. He expects the riders to follow once the leader is removed. Ahithophel instead proposes killing David through an immediate armed attack.
Notice
2 Samuel 17:2 Ahithophel plans to attack while David is weary. His advice depends on timing and on isolating the king from the people travelling with him.
2 Samuel 17:1-4
King James Version1Moreover Ahithophel said unto Absalom, Let me now choose out twelve thousand men, and I will arise and pursue after David this night:
2And I will come upon him while he is weary and weak handed, and will make him afraid: and all the people that are with him shall flee; and I will smite the king only:
3And I will bring back all the people unto thee: the man whom thou seekest is as if all returned: so all the people shall be in peace.
4And the saying pleased Absalom well, and all the elders of Israel.
2 Samuel 17:5-14
Hushai Wins Time for David
Hushai says David and his men are fierce fighters, not helpless fugitives. An early setback would frighten even Absalom's bravest supporters. He urges a huge national force with Absalom himself leading it. Such numbers, he claims, will crush David wherever he hides. Absalom and the elders prefer this plan. The account explains that God has chosen to defeat Ahithophel's sound advice and bring harm on Absalom. Hushai's words appeal to strength and grandeur while giving David the time he needs.
In everyday life
The board consultant tours a new zoo enclosure with its chair and urges a grand opening instead of a rushed merger. The chair likes the prospect of leading a large public event. Waiting gives the rival project time to prepare. Hushai wins delay for David, and God uses the rejected advice to bring down Absalom.
Notice
2 Samuel 17:14 Ahithophel's advice is called good even though it is rejected. Its failure is linked to God's decision to bring disaster on Absalom.
2 Samuel 17:5-14
King James Version5Then said Absalom, Call now Hushai the Archite also, and let us hear likewise what he saith.
6And when Hushai was come to Absalom, Absalom spake unto him, saying, Ahithophel hath spoken after this manner: shall we do after his saying? if not; speak thou.
7And Hushai said unto Absalom, The counsel that Ahithophel hath given is not good at this time.
8For, said Hushai, thou knowest thy father and his men, that they be mighty men, and they be chafed in their minds, as a bear robbed of her whelps in the field: and thy father is a man of war, and will not lodge with the people.
9Behold, he is hid now in some pit, or in some other place: and it will come to pass, when some of them be overthrown at the first, that whosoever heareth it will say, There is a slaughter among the people that follow Absalom.
10And he also that is valiant, whose heart is as the heart of a lion, shall utterly melt: for all Israel knoweth that thy father is a mighty man, and they which be with him are valiant men.
11Therefore I counsel that all Israel be generally gathered unto thee, from Dan even to Beer-sheba, as the sand that is by the sea for multitude; and that thou go to battle in thine own person.
12So shall we come upon him in some place where he shall be found, and we will light upon him as the dew falleth on the ground: and of him and of all the men that are with him there shall not be left so much as one.
13Moreover, if he be gotten into a city, then shall all Israel bring ropes to that city, and we will draw it into the river, until there be not one small stone found there.
14And Absalom and all the men of Israel said, The counsel of Hushai the Archite is better than the counsel of Ahithophel. For the LORD had appointed to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, to the intent that the LORD might bring evil upon Absalom.
2 Samuel 17:15-22
Hidden Messengers Reach the King
Hushai tells the priests both plans and urges them to warn David. A servant girl carries word to Jonathan and Ahimaaz outside the city. When a boy spots them, they flee to a house in Bahurim. A woman hides them in a well, covers it with grain, and sends their pursuers elsewhere. Once safe, they reach David and tell him to cross the river. By morning everyone has passed over Jordan. The warning reaches the king through several people willing to take risks.
In everyday life
A courier hides in a shop storeroom while carrying evidence to a threatened colleague. The owner covers the doorway with stock and sends searchers down another street. When they leave, the courier finishes the delivery before dawn. Several small acts keep the message moving. David's network protects a fleeing king from an army seeking his death.
Notice
2 Samuel 17:22 Everyone with David crosses Jordan before daylight. The completed crossing shows that the warning leads to action for the whole group, not only the king.
2 Samuel 17:15-22
King James Version15Then said Hushai unto Zadok and to Abiathar the priests, Thus and thus did Ahithophel counsel Absalom and the elders of Israel; and thus and thus have I counselled.
16Now therefore send quickly, and tell David, saying, Lodge not this night in the plains of the wilderness, but speedily pass over; lest the king be swallowed up, and all the people that are with him.
17Now Jonathan and Ahimaaz stayed by En-rogel; for they might not be seen to come into the city: and a wench went and told them; and they went and told king David.
18Nevertheless a lad saw them, and told Absalom: but they went both of them away quickly, and came to a man’s house in Bahurim, which had a well in his court; whither they went down.
19And the woman took and spread a covering over the well’s mouth, and spread ground corn thereon; and the thing was not known.
20And when Absalom’s servants came to the woman to the house, they said, Where is Ahimaaz and Jonathan? And the woman said unto them, They be gone over the brook of water. And when they had sought and could not find them, they returned to Jerusalem.
21And it came to pass, after they were departed, that they came up out of the well, and went and told king David, and said unto David, Arise, and pass quickly over the water: for thus hath Ahithophel counselled against you.
22Then David arose, and all the people that were with him, and they passed over Jordan: by the morning light there lacked not one of them that was not gone over Jordan.
2 Samuel 17:23-26
The Armies Move and Ahithophel Dies
Ahithophel sees that his advice will not be followed. He returns home, puts his household affairs in order, and kills himself. He is buried in his father's tomb. David reaches Mahanaim, while Absalom crosses Jordan with Israel's forces. Absalom appoints Amasa as army chief in Joab's place. Amasa's family is related to Joab's through their mothers. The opposing armies now prepare in Gilead. Rejected counsel has ended in death, and the approaching conflict also divides members of one extended family.
In everyday life
A bereavement volunteer helps relatives sort papers after a public official dies by suicide. She treats the ordered files as part of their loss, not proof that the death was wise or inevitable. The family needs care while public events continue. Ahithophel's death occurs as the royal rebellion moves toward its final battle.
Notice
2 Samuel 17:25 Amasa's mother is identified as the sister of Joab's mother. The family link places another division within the wider conflict over David's throne.
2 Samuel 17:23-26
King James Version23And when Ahithophel saw that his counsel was not followed, he saddled his ass, and arose, and gat him home to his house, to his city, and put his household in order, and hanged himself, and died, and was buried in the sepulchre of his father.
24Then David came to Mahanaim. And Absalom passed over Jordan, he and all the men of Israel with him.
25And Absalom made Amasa captain of the host instead of Joab: which Amasa was a man’s son, whose name was Ithra an Israelite, that went in to Abigail the daughter of Nahash, sister to Zeruiah Joab’s mother.
26So Israel and Absalom pitched in the land of Gilead.
2 Samuel 17:27-29
Three Supporters Feed the Weary Group
At Mahanaim, Shobi, Machir and Barzillai bring supplies to David. They provide beds, bowls, pots, grain, beans, lentils, honey, butter, sheep and cheese. Their concern is practical: the people have been hungry, thirsty and worn out in the wilderness. The gifts meet needs left by the flight from Jerusalem. These supporters are named, and so are the ordinary things they carry. The king's cause depends at this point on food, rest and the care shown to those travelling with him.
In everyday life
A village grocer unloads bedding, bowls and food for walkers stranded after a storm. She has asked what the group lacks instead of sending a ceremonial gift. Hot meals and a place to sleep restore strength for the next day. David's supplies sustain a displaced royal household and the people caught in a rebellion.
Notice
2 Samuel 17:29 The suppliers name hunger, weariness and thirst as their reason for giving. Their help responds to the people's actual condition after the wilderness crossing.
2 Samuel 17:27-29
King James Version27And it came to pass, when David was come to Mahanaim, that Shobi the son of Nahash of Rabbah of the children of Ammon, and Machir the son of Ammiel of Lo-debar, and Barzillai the Gileadite of Rogelim,
28Brought beds, and basons, and earthen vessels, and wheat, and barley, and flour, and parched corn, and beans, and lentiles, and parched pulse,
29And honey, and butter, and sheep, and cheese of kine, for David, and for the people that were with him, to eat: for they said, The people is hungry, and weary, and thirsty, in the wilderness.
Details worth noticing
The opening image
2 Samuel 17:1 begins with “Moreover Ahithophel said unto Absalom, Let me now choose out twelve thousand men, and I will arise and pursue after David this night:”
Where the chapter turns
2 Samuel 17:15 forms a natural hinge: “Then said Hushai unto Zadok and to Abiathar the priests, Thus and thus did Ahithophel counsel Absalom and the elders of Israel; and thus and thus have I…”
The final note
2 Samuel 17:29 leaves the reader with “And honey, and butter, and sheep, and cheese of kine, for David, and for the people that were with him, to eat: for they said, The people is hungry, and…”
A word trail through the chapter
The words Absalom, David, people, Ahithophel, Israel, counsel help reveal the chapter’s repeated concerns.
KJV words made clear
- behold
- look, or pay close attention
- unto
- to
- thee
- you
- thou
- you
- thy
- your
Music and video connected to the passage
Related media appears when its Scripture reference overlaps this study. Music and video can illuminate a theme while the biblical text remains the foundation.
