Hushai’s Warning Saves David

Hushai reports both plans to Zadok and Abiathar and urges that David be warned at once not to remain at the wilderness fords. The danger is still immediate, and the message is meant to keep the king and his people from being overtaken.

S¹⁵o Hushai told Zadok and Abiathar, the priests, “This is what Ahithophel has advised Absalom and the elders of Israel, and this is what I have advised. ¹⁶Now send quickly and tell David, ‘Do not spend the night at the fords of the wilderness, but be sure to cross over. Otherwise the king and all the people with him will be swallowed up.’”

The warning passes through Jonathan and Ahimaaz by a hidden route, but they are seen and must hide in a well until Absalom’s servants leave. Once free, they reach David, and by dawn every person with him has crossed the Jordan.

¹⁷Now Jonathan and Ahimaaz were staying at En-rogel, where a servant girl would come and pass along information to them. They in turn would go and inform King David, for they dared not be seen entering the city. ¹⁸But a young man did see them and told Absalom. So the two left quickly and came to the house of a man in Bahurim. He had a well in his courtyard, and they climbed down into it. ¹⁹Then the man’s wife took a covering, spread it over the mouth of the well, and scattered grain over it so nobody would know a thing. ²⁰When Absalom’s servants came to the woman at the house, they asked, “Where are Ahimaaz and Jonathan?” ²¹After the men had gone, Ahimaaz and Jonathan climbed up out of the well and went to inform King David, saying, “Get up and cross over the river at once, for Ahithophel has given this advice against you.” ²²So David and all the people with him got up and crossed the Jordan. By daybreak, there was no one left who had not crossed the Jordan.

When Ahithophel sees his advice rejected, he returns home, sets his affairs in order, and ends his life. Meanwhile David reaches Mahanaim, and Absalom crosses the Jordan with Israel, placing Amasa over the army and encamping in Gilead.

²³When Ahithophel saw that his advice had not been followed, he saddled his donkey and set out for his house in his hometown. He put his affairs in order and hanged himself. So he died and was buried in his father’s tomb. ²⁴Then David went to Mahanaim, and Absalom crossed the Jordan with all the men of Israel. ²⁵Absalom had appointed Amasa over the army in place of Joab. Amasa was the son of a man named Ithra, the Ishmaelite who had married Abigail, the daughter of Nahash and sister of Zeruiah the mother of Joab. ²⁶So the Israelites and Absalom camped in the land of Gilead.

At Mahanaim, David is met by Shobi, Machir, and Barzillai, who bring food, vessels, and bedding for the weary company. They recognize the plain needs of people worn down by hunger, thirst, and exhaustion in the wilderness.

²⁷When David came to Mahanaim, he was met by Shobi son of Nahash from Rabbah of the Ammonites, Machir son of Ammiel from Lo-debar, and Barzillai the Gileadite from Rogelim. ²⁸They brought beds, basins, and earthen vessels, as well as wheat, barley, flour, roasted grain, beans, lentils, ²⁹honey, curds, sheep, and cheese from the herd for David and his people to eat. For they said, “The people have become hungry, exhausted, and thirsty in the wilderness.”