{"id":60712,"date":"2019-08-06T16:38:39","date_gmt":"2019-08-06T13:38:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/?p=60712"},"modified":"2023-03-02T11:00:32","modified_gmt":"2023-03-02T09:00:32","slug":"plot-counterplot-and-more-i-spy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/plot-counterplot-and-more-i-spy\/","title":{"rendered":"Plot, Counterplot, And More \u201cI Spy\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"
<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[281],"tags":[834,434],"acf":{"old_id":"60712","type":"no","iframe":"","writer":34243,"related_cahpter":"280","type_929":"2","show_author_image":false,"old_create_date":"","old_url":"","post_main_content":{"description":"Just as there were Benjaminites, relatives of Saul who took David\u2019s side, there were Judeans, relatives of David, who sided with Absalom","content":"

We recall that David had instructed his counselor Hushai to remain in Jerusalem and serve as a \u201cfifth column\u201d by thwarting the advice of Ahithophel (15:34). In this chapter, both of David\u2019s assumptions were validated: Ahithophel indeed delivered sage and pertinent advice to Absalom, and only Hushai was able to override that advice. The result was salvific for David, who lived to fight another day (22), but catastrophic for Ahithophel, who took it so personally that he returned home to Gilo and commited suicide (23). Gilo, the southern suburb of Jerusalem, is considered to be situated in reasonable proximity to the biblical site of the same name.<\/span><\/p>\n

Yet another of David\u2019s preemptive strategies paid off in this chapter. Ahimaaz and Jonathan, sons of the priests Zadok and Evyatar, were his spies in Absalom\u2019s camp and brought him word of Hushai\u2019s success and Ahithophel\u2019s comeuppance. Some details of their escapade, however, warrant further investigation. First of all, there is the manner in which they evaded detection by Absalom\u2019s soldiers: While they hid in a well, a woman covered its mouth with drying pitas and pointed the pursuers in the wrong direction, strikingly reminiscent of the manner in which Joshua\u2019s spies were aided by Rahab (Joshua 2).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

More subtle, albeit more significant, is the fact that this took place in Bahurim, which was home to Shimei son of Gera, identified as \u201cfrom Saul\u2019s family\u201d (16:5). In other words, even in a Benjaminite town populated by relatives and retainers of Saul (see also 3:16), there were those who would put themselves at risk to aid David.<\/span><\/p>\n

On the other hand, our chapter ends with the notice that \u201cAbsalom had appointed Amasa army commander in place of Joab; Amasa was the son of a man named Ithra the Israelite, who had married Abigal, daughter of Nahash and sister of Joab\u2019s mother Zeruiah\u201d (25). In other words, just as there were Benjaminites, even relatives of Saul (like Mephi-Boshet) who took David\u2019s side, there were Judeans, even relatives of David, who sided with Absalom. Recall that Zeruiah was one of David\u2019s sisters (cf. 1 Chronicles 2:16) and Joab was his nephew (<\/span>see our comments here<\/span><\/a>) who took up arms with Absalom.<\/span><\/p>\n","image":{"ID":60713,"id":60713,"title":"2sam17-hushai","filename":"2sam17-hushai.png","filesize":0,"url":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/2sam17-hushai.png","link":"https:\/\/wp.929.org.il\/en\/plot-counterplot-and-more-i-spy\/2sam17-hushai\/","alt":"","author":"7","description":"","caption":"","name":"2sam17-hushai","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":60712,"date":"2019-08-06 13:38:24","modified":"2019-08-06 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