Archi

Archi was a locality on the boundary between the tribes of Ephraim and Benjamin (Josh. 16:2), situated between Bethel to the east and Beth-horon the Nether to the west. The site gave its name to the Archites, a clan or community whose most notable member was Hushai, “David's friend” and royal counselor (2 Sam. 15:32; 16:16; 17:5; 1 Chr. 27:33). The precise location of Archi is uncertain, though the boundary description in Joshua 16 places it in the territory between the central ridge and the Aijalon Valley descent toward the coastal plain.

Archi appears only once as a place name in the biblical text, though the gentillic “Archite” recurs several times in connection with Hushai. His designation as the Archite identifies him by his village or clan origin, a common convention in biblical narrative for distinguishing individuals bearing common names. The proximity of Archi to Bethel and the main routes between Jerusalem and the coastal plain gives the location strategic significance in the narrative of Absalom's revolt.