Hushai was a friend and adviser of King David. Hushai remained loyal to King David when Absalom, David's son, rebelled against him. Hushai's fellow adviser, Ahithophel, left David and joined Absalom's rebellion.
Following David's instructions, Hushai pretended to be loyal to Absalom. This allowed him to secretly send information to David about Absalom's plans. Ahithophel urged Absalom to attack David before he could gather mother soldiers. BHowever, Absalom chose to follow Hushai's advice instead. Hushai's advice gave David time to escape across the Jordan River and eventually defeat Absalom's forces.
When Ahithophel saw that Absalom did not follow his advice, he hanged himself. He probably knew that Absalom would lose the battle (2 Samuel 15:32–37; 16:15–17:23).
Hushai belonged to the Archite family from Ataroth, a town on the border of Ephraim and Benjamin (Joshua 16:2, 7).