Counsellor

A counsellor in the Bible is a wise man whose role is to discern the right course in matters of state, war, household, and conscience, and to lay it before the one who must decide. The office runs from Jonathan and Ahithophel at David's court through Joseph of Arimathaea on the Sanhedrin, and the figure of the counsellor is also predicated of the Spirit of Yahweh, of Yahweh himself, and of the Messiah whose throne-name in Isaiah is "Wonderful, Counselor." Around that office the wisdom tradition — Proverbs and Sirach especially — builds a code: the criteria for choosing a counsellor, the conditions under which advice is trustworthy, the specific persons one ought never to consult, and the standing rule that no purpose succeeds without it.

The Counsellor at Court

David's administrative list names the office before it tells any of its stories. "Also Jonathan, David's uncle, was a counselor, a man of understanding, and a scribe" (1Ch 27:32), and "Ahithophel was the king's counselor: and Hushai the Archite was the king's companion" (1Ch 27:33). The counsellor at court is thus distinct from the king's friend, and is paired with literacy and discernment. Ahithophel's standing is glossed at the height of Absalom's rebellion: "the counsel of Ahithophel, which he gave in those days, was as if a man inquired at the oracle of God: so was all the counsel of Ahithophel both with David and with Absalom" (2Sa 16:23). The same office is held in priestly and judicial form by the council at Jerusalem; Joseph of Arimathaea is identified by it on the day of the crucifixion: "there came Joseph of Arimathaea, a councilor of honorable estate, who also himself was looking for the kingdom of God; and he boldly went in to Pilate, and asked for the body of Jesus" (Mr 15:43; cf. Lu 23:51).

Outside Israel the office is identical in shape but routinely turned to evil. Athaliah's role is named flatly: "He also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab; for his mother was his counselor to do wickedly" (2CH 22:3). Antiochus IV gathers his cabinet on news of the Maccabean revival: "Now when the king heard this, he was angry: and he called together all his friends, and the captains of his army, and those who were over the chariots" (1Ma 6:28). His regent Lysias, in turn, comes back to the king and his captains with a counsel of expediency: "We decay daily, and our provision of victuals is small, and the place that we lay siege to is strong, and it lies on us to take order for the affairs of the kingdom" (1Ma 6:57). The narrative pattern is constant: the king does what the cabinet advises, for good or ill.

Wise Counsel and Foolish Counsel at the Same Throne

The Rehoboam scene is the umbrella's clearest demonstration that the office is only as good as the man who holds it. The elders who had stood before Solomon advise concession: "If you will be a slave to this people this day, and will serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be your slaves forever" (1Ki 12:7). The young men who grew up with Rehoboam advise the opposite — boast and threat: "Your father made our yoke heavy, but you make it lighter to us; thus you will speak to them, My little finger is thicker than my father's loins" (1Ki 12:10; cf. 2Ch 10:10). Rehoboam takes the second counsel, and the same chapter records him pursuing it to its idolatrous conclusion: "For this reason the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold; and he said to them, It is too much for you⁺ to go up to Jerusalem: here are your gods, O Israel" (1Ki 12:28). Sirach's later verdict carries the same weight: Solomon left after him "Rehoboam, he who by his counsel made the people revolt" (Sir 47:23).

The same dynamic appears in private counsel. Jethro advises Moses to delegate, and frames the advice as one counsellor to another: "Now listen to my voice, I will give you counsel, and God be with you: be for the people toward God, and you bring the causes to God" (Ex 18:19). The counsel of Balaam, by contrast, brought the plague of Peor: "Look, these caused the sons of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to produce disloyalty against Yahweh in the matter of Peor" (Nu 31:16). Job's wife is presented in the same posture, offering the worst counsel a wife could give a man under affliction: "Then his wife said to him, Do you still hold fast your integrity? Renounce God, and die" (Job 2:9). The Maccabean field commanders model the same office on the battlefield: "And a good counsel came into their minds, to pull it down" (1Ma 4:45) of the desecrated altar; Timotheus weighs whether to cross the wadi against Judas (1Ma 5:40); Nicanor's plan for an ambush is found out — "And Nicanor knew that his counsel was discovered" (1Ma 7:31). Mattathias on his deathbed names which of his sons is to fill the office for the rest: "And look, I know that your⁺ brother Simon Is a man of counsel. Give ear to him always, And he will be a father to you⁺" (1Ma 2:65). Daniel speaks to Nebuchadnezzar in the same role: "Therefore, O king, let my counsel be acceptable to you, and break off your sins by righteousness, and your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor" (Da 4:27).

The Wisdom Rule: No Purpose Without Counsel

The proverb-collections supply the standing rule. "Where there is no wise guidance, a people falls; But in the multitude of counselors there is safety" (Pr 11:14). "Where there is no counsel, purposes are disappointed; But in the multitude of counselors they are established" (Pr 15:22). "For by wise guidance you will make your war; And in the multitude of counselors there is safety" (Pr 24:6). The same principle governs the individual: "The way of a fool is right in his own eyes; But he who is wise harkens to counsel" (Pr 12:15); "By pride comes only contention; But with the well-advised is wisdom" (Pr 13:10). The aphorism for any project is given in Pr 20:18: "Every purpose is established by counsel; And by wise guidance make war."

Sirach develops the same rule into a habit of life. "Hearken to me, you⁺ great ones of the people, And you⁺ rulers of the congregation, give ear to me" (Sir 33:18) opens the appeal; the maxims that follow cluster around two commands. First, never act alone: "Do nothing without counsel, That you do not repent your act" (Sir 32:19); "Do not be excessive toward any creature, And do nothing without judgement" (Sir 33:29). Second, give weight to the older man, who has heard counsel from his fathers: "Do not despise what you hear among the gray-headed Which they have heard from their fathers. Because from this you will receive understanding To return an answer in the time you need it" (Sir 8:9). "How beautiful to gray hairs is judgement, And for elders to know counsel. How beautiful is the wisdom of old men, And thought and counsel to those who are honored" (Sir 25:4-5). The man who can speak counsel is also under obligation to give it: "A man of counsel does not hide his understanding, But the proud and scornful man will not accept the law" (Sir 32:18). And the counsel of the wise is itself life-giving: "The knowledge of a wise man abounds like a spring of water, And his counsel is like living water" (Sir 21:13). Money cannot replace it: "Gold and silver make the foot stand sure, But better than both is counsel esteemed" (Sir 40:25). The man who has settled his heart on tested counsel is steady: "[As] timber firmly fixed into the wall Is not loosened by an earthquake, So a heart established on well-advised counsel Will not be fearful in time [of danger]" (Sir 22:16).

Choosing the Counsellor

Sirach 37 is the longest sustained treatment of the office in the canon, and the umbrella reproduces its argument as a screening rule. The advisor's interest can corrupt his advice: "Every counsellor points out the way, But there is one who counsels a way for his own advantage. Of that counsellor let your soul take heed, And know beforehand what is his interest; For he, too, will take thought for himself; Why should it fall out to his advantage?" (Sir 37:7-8). The flatterer is the same man, with a smile: "And he will say to you, How good is your way! Then will he stand aloof and watch your adversity" (Sir 37:9). Sirach therefore lists the parties one is never to consult on the matter that touches them: "Do not take counsel with one who dislikes you, And hide your secret from one who is jealous of you. (Do not take counsel) with a woman concerning her rival, And an enemy concerning his conflict, With a merchant concerning business, And with a buyer concerning selling, With an evil man concerning the showing of kindness, And with one who is merciless concerning man's happiness, With a worthless workman concerning his work, And with a yearly hired worker concerning the sowing of seed, With an idle slave concerning much work, Do not trust in these for any counsel" (Sir 37:10-11). The positive criterion follows: "But rather with a man who fears always, Whom you know [to be] a keeper of the commandment, Whose heart is like your heart, And if you stumble he will be grieved for you" (Sir 37:12). The closing line turns inward: "And also discern the counsel of [your own] heart, For there is none more true to you" (Sir 37:13). The same author had already sealed the prior step — confide only in the discerning: "Let what you think be with him who has understanding; And [let] all that is your secret [be] among them" (Sir 9:15). The wicked are formally disqualified: "But the knowledge of wickedness is not wisdom, And the counsel of sinners is not understanding" (Sir 19:22).

Yahweh as Counsellor

The wisdom tradition anchors all of this in Yahweh, who is the counsellor behind every faithful counsellor. "I will bless Yahweh, who has given me counsel; Yes, my heart instructs me in the night seasons" (Ps 16:7); "You will guide me with your counsel, And afterward receive me to glory" (Ps 73:24). Isaiah ascribes to Yahweh the property the office requires: "This also comes forth from Yahweh of hosts, who is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in wisdom" (Is 28:29). Jeremiah agrees, and ties counsel to action: "great in counsel, and mighty in work; whose eyes are open on all the ways of the sons of man, to give every one according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings" (Je 32:19). The wise man of Sirach 39 lives by this same property: "He himself directs his counsel and knowledge, And in the secrets of it he meditates" (Sir 39:7). The Epistle to Diognetus pictures the divine counsel as something held in reserve and at length communicated: "and when he had conceived a great and ineffable thought, he communicated it to his Child alone" (Gr 8:9); "For so long a time, therefore, as he retained in mystery and reserved his wise counsel, he seemed to us to neglect us, and to be indifferent" (Gr 8:10).

The Messianic Counsellor

Isaiah names the Messiah by the office: among the throne-names of the child given is "Counselor" itself (Is 9:6, "his name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace"). The same prophet predicates the Spirit of Yahweh on him in the same vocabulary: "And the Spirit of Yahweh will rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of Yahweh" (Is 11:2). The risen Christ exercises that office over his churches in the Apocalypse — "I counsel you to buy of me gold refined by fire, that you may become rich; and white garments, that you may clothe yourself, and [that] the shame of your nakedness not be made manifest; and eyesalve to apply to your eyes, that you may see" (Re 3:18) — bringing the umbrella back to the same word with which it opened: a wise man, gifted with discernment, telling the one who must decide what he must do.