person
Hushai
חוּשַׁי
Hushai the Arkite was a loyal friend and advisor to King David, who helped him during Absalom's rebellion by countering the advice of Ahithophel.
- verses
- 13
- first named
- 2 Samuel 15:32
- last named
- 1 Chronicles 27:33
- period
- United Monarchy
- role
- David's compatriot
Description
Who was Hushai?
Hushai, also known as Hushai the Arkite, was a close friend and advisor to King David. He played a significant role during the rebellion of David's son Absalom, as recorded in 2Samuel 15-17.
When David fled from Jerusalem due to Absalom's rebellion, Hushai met him on the Mount of Olives, mourning and showing his loyalty to the king (2Sa.15.32). David instructed Hushai to return to Jerusalem and feign allegiance to Absalom, in order to counter the advice of Ahithophel, Absalom's counselor (2Sa.15.34).
Hushai followed David's plan and gained Absalom's trust (2Sa.16.16-19). When Ahithophel advised Absalom to pursue David immediately, Absalom sought Hushai's opinion (2Sa.17.5-7). Hushai cleverly countered Ahithophel's advice, suggesting that Absalom gather a larger army before pursuing David (2Sa.17.8-13). Absalom followed Hushai's advice, which bought David time to regroup and ultimately led to Absalom's defeat (2Sa.17.14-15).
Hushai's loyalty and wise counsel were instrumental in helping David overcome the crisis of Absalom's rebellion. His actions demonstrate the importance of faithful friends and advisors, especially in times of difficulty.
In addition to his role during Absalom's rebellion, Hushai is mentioned in 1Ki.4.16 as one of Solomon's twelve district governors, responsible for providing provisions for the king and his household. He is also listed in 1Ch.27.33 as one of David's counselors, along with Jonathan, David's uncle.
Hushai's service to both David and Solomon highlights his enduring loyalty to the Davidic dynasty and his valued role as a trusted advisor to the kings of Israel.
Relations
Direct connections
Every entity the graph places in a stated relation with this one, grouped by the kind of link. Each relation is authored once and its inverse derived, so both ends always agree. Rows marked “registry” come from the identity spine rather than from a verse, and a row marked “which bearer is the source’s decision” is one where the name could have meant more than one person. The last group is not a relation at all — it counts the events two entities stand in together.
Places
Where this happens
The places the claims about this person reach, drawn where the gazetteer locates them. A point is where a row puts them and never where tradition does; no line joins two points, because the rows state where and not in what order.
The pattern
Where Hushai is named
Every book of the corpus in the order it is read, each as wide as the chapters it holds. A bar is the verses of that book which write the name, and the flat stretches are as much of the answer as the bars.
13 verses across 3 of 66 books; 63 write the name nowhere. Named in 2 Samuel (11), 1 Kings (1) and 1 Chronicles (1).
Read it
Where to read it
Every verse of the text carried here that names this entity — 13, across 3 books. The name is written 14 times in them.
Onward
Where this page goes
Nothing in the graph stands one hop from this entity yet. These are the best-connected entities of the same type, so the page still ends somewhere. Descriptions by STEPBible TIPNR.
Where they appear
Chapter by chapter
Atlas's reading of each chapter this person appears in, in canonical order. One line per chapter, and each leads to the whole of it.
- 2 Samuel 15Hushai met David at the summit with torn robes and dust on his head, then returned to Jerusalem as Absalom entered.
- 2 Samuel 16Hushai greeted Absalom as king and said he would serve the one chosen by the LORD, the people, and Israel.
- 2 Samuel 17Hushai persuaded Absalom to gather all Israel and attack David with an army too large for subtlety.
Sources