Eliphelet the son of Ahasbai, the son of the Maachathite, Eliam the son of Ahithophel the Gilonite,
The verse names Eliam as the son of Ahithophel the Gilonite. The shared title Gilonite shows this Ahithophel is David's counselor who later joined Absalom's conspiracy. The verse counts Eliam among David's thirty-seven officers and guards, serving alongside Uriah the Hittite.
Taken with the statement that Bathsheba was the daughter of Eliam, the verse proves Bathsheba was Ahithophel's granddaughter and establishes a family connection in which Uriah, Bathsheba's husband, was Ahithophel's grandson by marriage. David's adultery with Bathsheba and murder of Uriah could thus have given Ahithophel a personal grievance that helped turn him against David.
David's sinful course with Bathsheba planted a spirit of revenge in Ahithophel's heart and a determination to wipe out the stigma from the family, which explains why he joined Absalom. The family connection helps explain Ahithophel's part in Absalom's conspiracy as a natural recoil of David's sin and as a precise fulfillment of Nathan's warning.
The verse names Eliam as the son of Ahithophel the Gilonite. The shared title Gilonite shows this Ahithophel is David's counselor who later joined Absalom's conspiracy. The verse counts Eliam among David's thirty-seven officers and guards, serving alongside Uriah the Hittite.
Taken with the statement that Bathsheba was the daughter of Eliam, the verse proves Bathsheba was Ahithophel's granddaughter and establishes a family connection in which Uriah, Bathsheba's husband, was Ahithophel's grandson by marriage. David's adultery with Bathsheba and murder of Uriah could thus have given Ahithophel a personal grievance that helped turn him against David.
David's sinful course with Bathsheba planted a spirit of revenge in Ahithophel's heart and a determination to wipe out the stigma from the family, which explains why he joined Absalom. The family connection helps explain Ahithophel's part in Absalom's conspiracy as a natural recoil of David's sin and as a precise fulfillment of Nathan's warning.