Archite

Archite is the designation applied to Hushai, one of the most important figures in the narrative of Absalom's revolt against David (2 Sam. 15:32; 16:16; 17:5, 14; 1 Chr. 27:33). The title identifies him as a native of Archi, a locality on the Benjamin-Ephraim border. Hushai is called “the king's friend,” a formal court title denoting a trusted royal advisor of the highest rank. When David fled Jerusalem during Absalom's coup, he sent Hushai back to the city as a counterspy with instructions to undermine the counsel of Ahithophel.

Hushai's successful counterintelligence operation—persuading Absalom to reject Ahithophel's strategically sound advice and adopt a delay that allowed David time to escape and regroup—was decisive in determining the outcome of the revolt. The narrative frames this outcome as the LORD's overruling of Ahithophel's counsel (2 Sam. 17:14). Hushai thus represents a model of loyal service and courageous deception employed in the service of the divinely anointed king.