Original Word: אֲחִיתֹפֶל
Part of Speech: Proper Name Masculine
Transliteration: Achiythophel
Pronunciation: a-khee-TOH-fel
Phonetic Spelling: (akh-ee-tho'-fel)
KJV: Ahithophel
NASB: Ahithophel
Word Origin: [from H251 (אָח - brother) and H8602 (תָּפֵל - Worthless)]

1. brother of folly
2. Achithophel, an Israelite

Ahithophel

From 'ach and taphel; brother of folly; Achithophel, an Israelite -- Ahithophel.

see HEBREW 'ach

see HEBREW taphel

Word Origin
from ach and perhaps taphel
Definition
an adviser of David
NASB Translation
Ahithophel (20).

אֲחִיתֹ֫פֶל proper name, masculine (my brother is folly?) David's trusted & traitorous counsellor 2 Samuel 15:12,31 (twice in verse); 2 Samuel 15:34; 2 Samuel 16:15,20,21,23 (twice in verse); 2 Samuel 17:1,6,7,14 (twice in verse); 2 Samuel 17:15; 2 Samuel 21:23; 2 Samuel 23:34; 1 Chronicles 27:33,34.

Genealogy and Identity

Ahithophel is introduced as “Ahithophel the Gilonite” (2 Samuel 15:12), indicating his hometown of Giloh in Judah’s hill country (Joshua 15:51). He is listed among David’s elite warriors as the father of Eliam (2 Samuel 23:34), and Eliam is elsewhere named the father of Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11:3). This places Ahithophel as Bathsheba’s grandfather and likely contributes to later tensions in David’s family story.

Position in David’s Court

Ahithophel served as the chief counselor to King David. “The counsel Ahithophel gave was like one who inquires of the word of God” (2 Samuel 16:23). His wisdom was renowned, and he held an office comparable to a royal prime minister (1 Chronicles 27:33).

Involvement in Absalom’s Rebellion

When Absalom declared himself king at Hebron, “the conspiracy gained strength, and the people kept increasing with Absalom” along with “Ahithophel the Gilonite, David’s counselor” (2 Samuel 15:12). His defection shocked David, who immediately prayed, “O Lord, please turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness!” (2 Samuel 15:31).

Strategic Counsel to Absalom

1. Domestic Defilement: At Jerusalem Ahithophel urged Absalom, “Go in to your father’s concubines whom he left to guard the palace” (2 Samuel 16:21). This public act fulfilled Nathan’s prophecy (2 Samuel 12:11–12) and signaled permanent rupture with David.
2. Military Pursuit: His next advice was, “Let me choose twelve thousand men and set out tonight in pursuit of David” (2 Samuel 17:1). A swift night attack, he argued, would strike a weary king and rally the nation to Absalom.

Divine Overruling through Hushai

God answered David’s prayer by planting Hushai the Archite in Absalom’s court. Hushai countered, “You know your father and his men; they are mighty men, enraged like a bear deprived of her cubs” (2 Samuel 17:8). Absalom accepted Hushai’s delay tactic, giving David time to cross the Jordan and regroup. Scripture notes, “The Lord had purposed to thwart the good counsel of Ahithophel so that the Lord might bring disaster on Absalom” (2 Samuel 17:14).

Death by Suicide

Realizing his strategic plan had been rejected and foreseeing Absalom’s downfall, “Ahithophel set his house in order, hanged himself, and died” (2 Samuel 17:23). His self-inflicted death mirrors the fate of later betrayers such as Judas Iscariot (Matthew 27:5), highlighting the destructive end of treachery.

Legacy and Theological Significance

1. Prophecy and Sovereignty: Ahithophel’s involvement fulfilled prophetic judgment on David’s household while simultaneously advancing God’s redemptive purposes through the preservation of the Davidic line.
2. Betrayal Motif: His account foreshadows messianic betrayal. Psalm 41:9, “Even my close friend in whom I trusted… has lifted up his heel against me,” draws on David’s experience with Ahithophel and is applied to Christ’s betrayal (John 13:18).
3. Wisdom Corrupted: Though famed for insight, Ahithophel’s wisdom became weaponized by bitterness. James 3:17 contrasts heavenly wisdom—“peace-loving, considerate, submissive”—with earthly, demonic wisdom driven by envy and selfish ambition, traits evident in Ahithophel’s counsel.

Lessons for Believers

• Unchecked resentment can invert giftedness into destructive influence.
• God remains sovereign over human schemes; He can “turn the counsel of the nations to nothing” (Psalm 33:10).
• Trusting in political power or human strategy apart from righteousness leads to ruin.
• Faithful counselors align their advice with God’s revealed will; their legacy endures, unlike Ahithophel’s memory of betrayal and despair.

אֲחִיתֹ֑פֶל אֲחִיתֹ֔פֶל אֲחִיתֹ֖פֶל אֲחִיתֹ֗פֶל אֲחִיתֹ֙פֶל֙ אֲחִיתֹ֥פֶל אֲחִיתֹ֨פֶל אֲחִיתֹֽפֶל׃ אחיתפל אחיתפל׃ וַאֲחִיתֹ֖פֶל וַאֲחִיתֹ֣פֶל ואחיתפל ’ă·ḥî·ṯō·p̄el ’ăḥîṯōp̄el achiTofel vaachiTofel wa’ăḥîṯōp̄el wa·’ă·ḥî·ṯō·p̄elInterlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts