What is the context?
Absalom enters Jerusalem with Ahithophel. Hushai greets him as king, and Absalom questions why he has left his friend David. Hushai speaks of serving the one chosen by the LORD and Israel and of serving the son as he served the father. Readers already know that David has sent him to work against Ahithophel’s counsel.
Ahithophel advises Absalom to sleep with the concubines David left to care for the palace. He explains the intended effect: an unmistakable breach with David will strengthen Absalom’s supporters. A tent is set up on the roof, and Absalom carries out the advice publicly.
The chapter closes by describing the extraordinary trust both David and Absalom had placed in Ahithophel’s counsel. Its reputation helps explain why such a destructive proposal is followed.
How is this passage commonly understood?
Gill understands Hushai’s answer as deliberately ambiguous and criticizes its deception. His words can be heard by Absalom as loyalty while Hushai remains committed to David. The strategy’s service to David does not make its moral questions disappear.
Henry and Wesley read Ahithophel’s advice as an attempt to make reconciliation between father and son seem impossible, securing the commitment of Absalom’s party. The women left in the palace are being drawn into the struggle for power.
Wesley also connects the public act with Nathan’s earlier announcement in 2 Samuel 12:11–12. That connection explains its place in the story of judgment without making the advice morally good. Being regarded like an answer from God is a description of Ahithophel’s influence, not a declaration that everything he says is God’s word.
What is our position?
We don't have a position on this passage yet. When our study reaches a conclusion the text supports, it will appear here.