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Dear catholic.com visitors: This Catholic Answers website, with all its free resources, is the world’s largest source of explanations for Catholic beliefs and practices. We receive no funding from the institutional Church and rely entirely on your generosity to sustain this website with trustworthy, accessible content. If every visitor this month donated $1, catholic.com would be fully funded for an entire year. If you’ve never made a gift, now is the time. Your donation will be matched dollar for dollar this week only. Thanks and God bless.

Achitopel

Counsellor of King David who joined the rebrellion of Absalom

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Achitopel was an able and honored counsellor of David, who joined the rebellion of Absalom. The King was much affected by this desertion. Hearing that the man on whose word he had been wont to rely as “on an oracle of God” was giving his advice to the enemy, he prayed the Lord to “infatuate the counsel of Achitopel”. Some have seen in Pss. liv, 13-15; xl, 10, reflections of David on this faithless friend. It was on the advice of Achitopel that Absalom took possession of his father’s harem, thus cutting off all hope of reconciliation. Understanding the need of energetic measures, he urged that 12,000 men be sent from Jerusalem in pursuit of the King. He offered to lead them himself. Chusai, a secret friend of David, defeated his purpose. Thereupon he proudly withdrew to his town of Gilo, put his house in order, and strangled himself. (See II Kings, xv, 12; xvii, 23; I Par., xxvii, 33.) It would seem from a conjunction of II Kings, xxiii, 34, and xi, 3, that Achitopel was the grandfather of Bethsabee, and it has been suggested, as an explanation of his conduct towards David, that he had kept a secret grudge against the King for the way he had treated Bethsabee, and her first husband, the unfortunate Urias. This, or some motive of ambition, would be in keeping with the haughty character of Achitopel. Dryden has used this name in the title of his famous satire against the Protestant Party, “Absalom and Achitophel”.

W.S. REILLY


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