Ahithophel in the Bible — Hidden Meaning & Symbolism

foolish brother; brother of foolishness, i. e., foolish; brother of folly. A counselor of King David's, a very wise man, who foolishly joined himself to Absalom when Absalom tried to seize his father's throne. When David heard of it he said:"O Jehovah, I pray thee, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness" (II Sam. 15:12, 31-34; 17:1-23). Meta. The history of Ahithophel as given in the Bible, together with the meaning of the name, shows him to be a good example of the utter foolishness of the highest worldly or intellectual wisdom when it is compared with true spiritual understanding. In his ill treatment of David and in his suicide which followed, Ahithophel suggests Judas and his relation to Jesus Christ (Psalms 41: 9; Matt. 27:5).