XVII.
(1) Pursue after David this night. — Ahithophel saw clearly that Absalom’s success depended on striking an immediate blow. He felt confident, and perhaps with reason, that David in his distress and weariness was in no condition to resist a sudden onset. That he was wise in his counsel is made plain by the opposition of Hushai and the anxiety to send tidings to David with all speed. “This night” is generally taken to mean the night of the day on which David left Jerusalem; but from 2 Samuel 17:16 and 2 Samuel 15:28 it appears that he was already encamped by the fords of the Jordan, a greater distance than he could have accomplished in one day’s march.