Lives of Scripture

Ahimaaz, son of Zadok the priest, served as a trusted courier for David during Absalom's rebellion. When David fled Jerusalem, he arranged for Zadok and Abiathar to stay behind with their sons Ahimaaz and Jonathan as an intelligence relay, using the priests' access to the city (2 Samuel 15:27-36). The plan nearly failed: waiting outside the city at En-rogel, Ahimaaz and Jonathan were spotted and had to hide in a well at Bahurim, its opening covered with grain by a quick-thinking woman, before delivering word that let David escape across the Jordan ahead of Absalom's pursuit (17:17-22). After the decisive battle in the forest of Ephraim, Ahimaaz begged Joab to let him run and report the victory to David, even though Joab initially refused him, choosing a Cushite messenger instead since "the king's son is dead" and there would be no reward in that news (18:19-23). Ahimaaz ran anyway, by a faster route, and reached David first -- but when the king anxiously asked whether Absalom was safe, Ahimaaz could not bring himself to answer plainly, saying only that he saw "a great tumult" (18:28-29). The Cushite arrived moments later with the truth. Ahimaaz's swift loyalty throughout the rebellion, paired with his inability to speak the hardest news to a grieving father, paints one of Scripture's more human character sketches among David's supporting cast.