2 Samuel 16:15-23
Hushai Answers Absalom
Read the passage
15Then Absalom and all the men of Israel came to Jerusalem, and Ahithophel was with him.
16And David’s friend Hushai the Archite went to Absalom and said to him, “Long live the king! Long live the king!”
17“Is this the loyalty you show your friend?” Absalom replied. “Why did you not go with your friend?”
18“Not at all,” Hushai answered. “For the one chosen by the LORD, by this people, and by all the men of Israel—his I will be, and with him I will remain.
19Furthermore, whom should I serve if not his son? As I served in your father’s presence, so also I will serve in yours.”
20Then Absalom said to Ahithophel, “Give me counsel. What should we do?”
21Ahithophel replied, “Sleep with your father’s concubines, whom he has left to take care of the palace. When all Israel hears that you have become a stench to your father, then the hands of all who are with you will be strengthened.”
22So they pitched a tent for Absalom on the roof, and he slept with his father’s concubines in the sight of all Israel.
23Now in those days the advice of Ahithophel was like the consultation of the word of God. Such was the regard that both David and Absalom had for Ahithophel’s advice.
Berean Standard Bible
Read aloud
Absalom enters Jerusalem with Ahithophel. Hushai comes to meet him and says, “Long live the king!” Absalom asks why he has not gone with David. Hushai answers that he will serve the one chosen by the LORD, by the people, and by all Israel.
Hushai's allegiance is deliberately ambiguous. He says that as he served David, so he will serve Absalom, and he presents himself as a loyal subject. The narrator still calls Hushai David’s friend; his apparent offer of service should be read with that loyalty in mind.
Absalom asks Ahithophel what he should do. Ahithophel tells him to go in to the concubines David left to keep the palace, making the break between father and son public. The counsel is followed, and Ahithophel's word is treated as though it were an answer from God.
Ahithophel wants Israel to see a public break between father and son that will strengthen Absalom’s followers. A tent is pitched on the roof, and Absalom sleeps with the women David left to care for the palace. This recalls Nathan’s warning in 2 Samuel 12:11–12 that the wrong David committed secretly would be answered by public humiliation within his house. Fulfillment of that judgment does not make the people who commit this abuse innocent.
The passage is not a model for manipulating people or using sexual humiliation to prove authority. It exposes how rebellion can imitate kingship while treating vulnerable people as instruments. When leaders make another person's body or reputation carry a political message, refuse the spectacle, protect the person, and name the abuse clearly.
Questions
1 How does Hushai answer Absalom's question about his loyalty?
AnswerHe uses language that can be heard as loyalty to the current king, whoever that is. His answer conceals his purpose while gaining access to Absalom's inner circle.
2 What does Ahithophel advise Absalom to do?
AnswerHe tells Absalom to take David's concubines publicly. The act declares that Absalom has taken the throne and makes private family betrayal a public political statement.
3 What does the narrator say about Ahithophel's counsel?
AnswerIt was regarded as if someone had inquired of the word of God. The statement describes the weight of Ahithophel's reputation, not a claim that his counsel was morally good.
4 How should we respond when someone is being used to make a public statement of power?
AnswerAttend to the person being harmed rather than joining the spectacle. Refuse humiliating talk or displays, seek help that protects them, and do not let a leader’s reputation excuse what is being done.
What This Means for Us
The account shows how rebellion turns relationships into signals. Absalom's act is designed to prove that reconciliation with David is impossible, but it also objectifies the women caught in the struggle.
Hushai's deception belongs to a crisis of war and succession. It should not become a general excuse for lying whenever a family wants its preferred outcome.
Pay attention when a person or relationship is being used to make a public point. Refuse to treat vulnerable people as evidence of someone else's power, loyalty, or revenge.
Prayer
God of truth, protect people who are used as symbols in conflicts they did not create. Give us discernment in uncertain situations and keep our ambitions from turning relationships into instruments of control. Amen.
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