Chapter 17 of Shmuel B is a chapter of dueling counsels. Avshalom has already rebelled, David has fled Jerusalem, and now everything hinges on a single question: whose counsel will be accepted, that of Achitofel or that of Chushai the Archite. Avshalom asked both of them to advise him together, but Achitofel, who was shrewder than Avshalom and than everyone else, knew full well that Chushai the Archite would never agree to killing David, for Chushai was "David's friend," his loyal companion. Therefore Achitofel took the reins and began to manage matters on his own, without consulting Chushai at all.
וַיֹּאמֶר אֲחִיתֹפֶל אֶל־אַבְשָׁלוֹם אֶבְחֲרָה נָּא שְׁנֵים־עָשָׂר אֶלֶף אִישׁ וְאָקוּמָה וְאֶרְדְּפָה אַחֲרֵי־דָוִד הַלָּיְלָה׃ - And Achitofel said to Avshalom: Let me now choose twelve thousand men, and I will arise and pursue after David tonight.
In one short pasuk lie four conditions, and only if all of them are fulfilled together is success guaranteed. The first condition: "אֶבְחֲרָה נָּא." The word "נא" has two meanings: an expression of request, or an expression of "now." Here it cannot be interpreted as a request, for he does not say "let my master now take," and therefore the meaning is "now," immediately. And so the Targum always translates "נא" as "כען," now. The second condition: not to gather all of Israel. A mass mobilization takes time and is cumbersome; Achitofel wants a small elite unit, already prepared now, with which it is easy and fast to act. The third condition: "וְאָקוּמָה" - I, and not Avshalom. Only Achitofel will pursue with the twelve thousand men. And the fourth condition: the pursuit is to be done specifically at night and not by day.
וְאָבוֹא עָלָיו וְהוּא יָגֵעַ וּרְפֵה יָדַיִם וְהַחֲרַדְתִּי אֹתוֹ וְנָס כָּל־הָעָם אֲשֶׁר־אִתּוֹ וְהִכֵּיתִי אֶת־הַמֶּלֶךְ לְבַדּוֹ׃ - And I will come upon him while he is weary and weak-handed, and I will terrify him, and all the people who are with him will flee, and I will strike down the king alone.
Now the wisdom of all the conditions becomes clear. If I pursue at once, I will overtake David by surprise, while he is still in the midst of his flight, tired and weary. For we saw that David reached Bachurim and "rested there," he needed to restore himself from all the walking. And if I come at night, I will terrify him, that is, alarm him at a time when he is not prepared at all, for at night wars are not waged and no one expects a surprise attack. Out of the panic, all the people with him will flee, and then David will remain alone, and I will be able to strike him down. This is the explanation for all the conditions: if we wait, we lose the momentum and David will no longer be weary; and if we gather more men, again we will be delayed. Therefore specifically twelve thousand men who are already prepared now, a small unit that is not cumbersome.
And why "and I will arise" - I and not Avshalom? Here lies the depth of the counsel. Achitofel says explicitly: with anything less than killing David we will not succeed. If you want to reign in peace, you must kill David, there is no substitute for this. But if you kill him, a stain will cling to you forever - "this is Avshalom who murdered his father," a son who rose up and killed his father in order to reign - and this stain will deny you the kingship. By contrast, if I kill him, it will be easy for you to distance yourself from the deed: you will say that it was not planned, that it did not come from you, that Achitofel bore an ancient hatred for David - for he was the grandfather of Bat Sheva, and David took Bat Sheva and killed Uriah the Hittite, and Achitofel, as the blood avenger, went out on his own personal reckoning. You will come out clean. And there is a further gain: this way we will not need to harm the people who are with David, and these people are precisely the ones you want with you in the end. We will kill none but David alone, and the kingship will be established in your hand without fear of rebellion.
וְאָשִׁיבָה כָל־הָעָם אֵלֶיךָ כְּשׁוּב הַכֹּל הָאִישׁ אֲשֶׁר אַתָּה מְבַקֵּשׁ כָּל־הָעָם יִהְיֶה שָׁלוֹם׃ - And I will bring back all the people to you; when all return, the man whom you seek, all the people will be at peace.
This pasuk appears to be composed of fragments of sentences, and the Malbim explains it. Achitofel adds a further justification for the benefit of his counsel: if we gather a large army and go out to an all-out war, many will fall on both sides, on yours and on David's, and enmity will remain between the two camps for years, an enmity that will always make it difficult for you to receive kingship over all of Israel. Therefore it is better that I strike David alone, "and I will bring back all the people to you." With a small army we can be careful not to harm the rest of the people; with a large army war will erupt, two camps will be formed, and the camp that is harmed will bear enmity toward you, and this is not worthwhile.
But a question arises: and what will become of me? For when I return, the people will demand that you kill me - "Achitofel killed David" - and you, after all, distanced yourself and said it was not you but Achitofel, so they will put me on trial and seek my blood. For this too Achitofel provided a cover: "כְּשׁוּב הַכֹּל הָאִישׁ אֲשֶׁר אַתָּה מְבַקֵּשׁ" - when all return, the man whom you seek will also return, and he means himself. It was customary that when the army returns from war in victory, the king grants a general amnesty to all, even to one who has a matter of dispute with the monarchy. If so, when everyone returns from the war, I too will return with them in peace under that same amnesty, "all the people will be at peace," everyone will accept and agree to the general amnesty and will not seek my life, and thus you will be able to save me from the accusation.
The Malbim brings another explanation, which seems to him more fitting: "the halves of a verse run parallel." This principle works as follows: when there are two adjacent verses, and verse one speaks of two matters, and verse two also speaks of two matters, the first part of the second verse continues the first part of the first, and the latter part of the second continues the latter part of the first. Here: "וְנָס כָּל־הָעָם אֲשֶׁר־אִתּוֹ" in verse two continues with "וְאָשִׁיבָה כָל־הָעָם אֵלֶיךָ כְּשׁוּב הַכֹּל" - they will flee and I will return them to you, and when they all return they will accept your kingship. And "וְהִכֵּיתִי אֶת־הַמֶּלֶךְ לְבַדּוֹ" in the latter part continues with "הָאִישׁ אֲשֶׁר אַתָּה מְבַקֵּשׁ" in the latter part - him alone will I strike.
וַיִּישַׁר הַדָּבָר בְּעֵינֵי אַבְשָׁלֹם וּבְעֵינֵי כָּל־זִקְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל׃ - And the matter was right in the eyes of Avshalom and in the eyes of all the elders of Israel.
The Malbim was precise in the wording of the verse: it does not say "the matter was good" but "the matter was right." For the very fact that Avshalom would be forced to kill his father was bad in his eyes, and it cannot be called good. But it is right counsel, that is, useful, counsel from which the desired result will come. "My heart aches," Avshalom says to himself, "that I will be forced to do such a thing." And for this reason he seeks to hear another opinion, hoping that the opinion of Chushai the Arkite will temper the counsel of Achitofel, and perhaps he will not be forced to do a deed that goes against his inner conscience.
וַיֹּאמֶר אַבְשָׁלוֹם קְרָא נָא גַּם לְחוּשַׁי הָאַרְכִּי וְנִשְׁמְעָה מַה־בְּפִיו גַּם־הוּא׃ - And Avshalom said, Call now also Chushai the Arkite, and let us hear what he too has to say.
That is: even though he is a friend of David and suspect in my eyes, still let us hear his counsel as well.
וַיָּבֹא חוּשַׁי אֶל־אַבְשָׁלוֹם וַיֹּאמֶר אַבְשָׁלוֹם אֵלָיו לֵאמֹר כַּדָּבָר הַזֶּה דִּבֶּר אֲחִיתֹפֶל הֲנַעֲשֶׂה אֶת־דְּבָרוֹ אִם־אַיִן אַתָּה דַבֵּר׃ - And Chushai came to Avshalom, and Avshalom said to him, saying, Achitofel has spoken thus and so; shall we act on his word? If not, you speak.
He was precise in his wording: he does not ask whether the counsel is right in his eyes. "Achitofel has spoken thus and so" - I have no doubt that his counsel is right, that is, useful, and that it will lead to the hoped for result. The only question is "shall we act on his word, or not": whether to carry out specifically that plan, or perhaps you have another counsel that will bring about the same benefit without the need to kill David.
וַיֹּאמֶר חוּשַׁי אֶל־אַבְשָׁלוֹם לֹא־טוֹבָה הָעֵצָה אֲשֶׁר־יָעַץ אֲחִיתֹפֶל בַּפַּעַם הַזֹּאת׃ - And Chushai said to Avshalom, The counsel that Achitofel has given is not good this time.
What is "this time"? The Metzudat David explains: the counsel regarding the concubines, to come to your father's concubines, was excellent counsel and there is no dispute about it; only this time the counsel is not successful. And this is a ploy of Chushai to win Avshalom's trust. Had he opposed Achitofel in everything, they would have said to him: after all, you are David's friend, and you seek nothing but counsel to save him. Therefore he opens with praise: well done for what you did with the concubines, Achitofel's counsel there was wonderful. Had I desired only David's welfare, I would have been horrified by the deed and told you it was terrible and dreadful.
And another precise reading of the Malbim: he did not say "the matter is not good" but "the counsel is not good." That is: I do not dispute the outcome. Had this been good counsel by which we would achieve the goal, I would agree, even to killing David. As far as I am concerned, let David die; I am not telling you "the matter is not good." It is only the counsel itself that is not successful, and by it we will not achieve the result. Thus Chushai reverses things: Avshalom thought the counsel was excellent but the outcome was undesirable to him; Chushai tells him the opposite - I am in favor of killing David, but by this path we will not succeed. And now let us see what counsel he proposes and how he persuades more effectively than Achitofel.
וַיֹּאמֶר חוּשַׁי אַתָּה יָדַעְתָּ אֶת־אָבִיךָ וְאֶת־אֲנָשָׁיו כִּי גִבֹּרִים הֵמָּה וּמָרֵי נֶפֶשׁ הֵמָּה כְּדֹב שַׁכּוּל בַּשָּׂדֶה וְאָבִיךָ אִישׁ מִלְחָמָה וְלֹא יָלִין אֶת־הָעָם׃ - And Chushai said: You know your father and his men, that they are mighty warriors, and they are bitter of soul, like a bear bereaved of her cubs in the field. Your father is a man of war, and he will not spend the night with the people.
Achitophel's plan rests on two assumptions, and if we refute them, the entire plan collapses. The first assumption: David and his men are weary and exhausted. To this Chushai responds: "They are mighty warriors, and they are bitter of soul, like a bear bereaved of her cubs in the field." A bereaved bear, even if it is somewhat tired, out of its bitterness will destroy anyone who crosses its path. On the contrary, the bitterness is precisely what brings it to the intensity of "I have nothing to lose," out of the fullness of its rage. You are not going to find men resting and relaxing on their laurels. The second assumption: the advantage of a nighttime surprise. Even if they are mighty warriors, they are asleep, and a sleeping bereaved bear is worth nothing. To this he responds: "And your father is a man of war, and he will not spend the night with the people." Have you ever seen men of war where the whole army lies down to sleep? David will always make sure to leave a group of men awake, to ensure that no one can surprise them.
הִנֵּה עַתָּה הוּא־נֶחְבָּא בְּאַחַת הַפְּחָתִים אוֹ בְּאַחַד הַמְּקוֹמֹת וְהָיָה כִּנְפֹל בָּהֶם בַּתְּחִלָּה וְשָׁמַע הַשֹּׁמֵעַ וְאָמַר הָיְתָה מַגֵּפָה בָּעָם אֲשֶׁר אַחֲרֵי אַבְשָׁלֹם׃ - Behold, right now he is hidden in one of the pits or in one of the places, and it will be that when some of them fall at the outset, whoever hears of it will say: There has been a slaughter among the people who follow Avshalom.
Not only will the plan fail to achieve its goal, but it may cause more harm than good. Imagine that in the first battle, with only twelve thousand men, a very small army, you suffer a defeat. Whoever hears of it will not grasp the details; he will not know that there were only twelve thousand and that this was merely a first engagement and that all the people are still with Avshalom. He will hear only one thing: there was a war between David and Avshalom, and David struck Avshalom's men a crushing blow. And who wants to join the losers? Everyone will return to David. It turns out that with this plan you are liable to lose the entire people, and the whole rebellion will collapse, for it is enough that word spreads among the people that your men fell before David, and you have lost the kingship entirely.
וְהוּא גַם־בֶּן־חַיִל אֲשֶׁר לִבּוֹ כְּלֵב הָאַרְיֵה הִמֵּס יִמָּס כִּי־יֹדֵעַ כָּל־יִשְׂרָאֵל כִּי־גִבּוֹר אָבִיךָ וּבְנֵי־חַיִל אֲשֶׁר אִתּוֹ׃ - And even the valiant man, whose heart is like the heart of a lion, will utterly melt, for all Israel knows that your father is a mighty warrior, and that those with him are valiant men.
To whom does "and even the valiant man" refer? The Metzudat David explains that it refers to the one who hears, mentioned in the previous verse: even that hearer who is a valiant man and whose heart is like the heart of a lion, when he hears of the fall before David's men, his heart will melt within him. For everyone knows that your father is a mighty warrior, a great expert, and that he has great heavenly assistance. And do not say, "We will organize the army tomorrow and go out again," for everyone who hears of the first fall will say: I am not enlisting in this army. And then you have lost the entire army that is with you. The Radak explains that "and even the valiant man" refers to Achitophel himself: even Achitophel, who is a valiant man and whose heart is like the heart of a lion, and I have no doubt of his valor, when he sees your fall before David, his heart will melt, for all Israel knows that your father is a mighty warrior and that those with him are valiant men, and he will not be able to continue and conquer David.
כִּי יָעַצְתִּי הֵאָסֹף יֵאָסֵף עָלֶיךָ כָל־יִשְׂרָאֵל מִדָּן וְעַד־בְּאֵר שֶׁבַע כַּחוֹל אֲשֶׁר־עַל־הַיָּם לָרֹב וּפָנֶיךָ הֹלְכִים בַּקְרָב׃ - For I advise that all Israel be gathered to you, from Dan to Beer Sheva, as numerous as the sand that is by the sea, and that you yourself go into the battle.
Every one of Achitophel's conditions is here turned on its head. Achitophel opened with "right now," immediately, to seize the momentum; Chushai says: no and no, such matters are done with calm, with careful consideration, with thought and meticulous planning. Achitophel asked for a small division of twelve thousand; Chushai says: we will gather all Israel from Dan to Beer Sheva. Will it take a week? It will take a week, but we will have a sufficient army, an army so large that when we attack, David will have no chance in the world of coming out of it alive. And not Achitophel at the head of the army, who does not have the power to muster the people and instill in their hearts a spirit of valor, but rather "and you yourself go into the battle." When the king himself is at the head, all the people are encouraged, and then there is a chance that we can prevail over David and leave him no survivor or remnant.
וּבָאנוּ אֵלָיו בְּאַחַד הַמְּקוֹמֹת אֲשֶׁר נִמְצָא שָׁם וְנַחְנוּ עָלָיו כַּאֲשֶׁר יִפֹּל הַטַּל עַל־הָאֲדָמָה וְלֹא־נוֹתַר בּוֹ וּבְכָל־הָאֲנָשִׁים אֲשֶׁר־אִתּוֹ גַּם־אֶחָד׃ - And we will come upon him in one of the places where he is to be found, and we will descend upon him as the dew falls upon the ground, and there will not be left of him and of all the men who are with him even one.
The fourth condition is reversed as well: not at night but by day - "when the dew falls on the ground," and the dew falls in the morning; then we will surprise him. And not according to the counsel of Achitofel, to go only after David himself and let everyone else flee. If you want quiet, you must kill everyone who was loyal to David: we will kill all the men who are with him, and give him no chance whatsoever to escape.
וְאִם־אֶל־עִיר יֵאָסֵף וְהִשִּׂיאוּ כָל־יִשְׂרָאֵל אֶל־הָעִיר הַהִיא חֲבָלִים וְסָחַבְנוּ אֹתוֹ עַד־הַנַּחַל עַד אֲשֶׁר־לֹא־נִמְצָא שָׁם גַּם־צְרוֹר׃ - And if he withdraws into a city, then all Israel shall bring ropes to that city, and we shall drag it down to the valley, until not even a pebble is found there.
And if David gathers himself into a city, making it into a city of refuge, and the local people help him fortify it so that we cannot enter - we have nothing to worry about. When we come with a hundred, two hundred, three hundred thousand soldiers, we will take the city apart piece by piece, drag it with ropes until we extract David and his men from there and destroy them, and leave not even a pebble there - not a stone of the city will remain upon a stone. In this way David's downfall is guaranteed; not like the counsel of Achitofel, in which there is a risk that David will prevail and you will lose everything. Against a great army he has no chance at all, and you will succeed one hundred percent.
In this chapter two pieces of counsel stand opposite one another, opposed in every detail. Achitofel builds on speed, on a small and skilled unit, on a nighttime pursuit by surprise, and on striking David alone - taking the deed upon himself so that Avshalom will remain untainted by the stain of murdering his father, and even arranging in advance a general pardon for when the army returns. Chushai the Archite, who first comes to win Avshalom's trust by praising him for the counsel regarding the concubines, contradicts both of Achitofel's basic assumptions - that David and his men are weary and that they can be surprised in their sleep - and warns against a defeat in the first battle that would collapse the entire rebellion. In its place he proposes the complete opposite: waiting, mobilizing all of Israel, the king at the head of the army, attacking by day, and the total destruction of David and all his men. Two pieces of counsel, both presented as the path to the same goal, and the entire fate of the monarchy hangs on the choice between them.