A treacherous advisor or counselor; derived from the Biblical figure Ahithophel who betrayed King David.
From Hebrew 'Ahithophel' (brother of foolishness), a historical figure in the Bible (2 Samuel). English used this as a symbolic term for any treacherous adviser from medieval times onward.
This biblical reference became so culturally powerful that 'Achitophel' appears in Dryden's 17th-century political satire—showing how one biblical betrayal shaped an entire archetype of treacherous counsel!
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