Sanhedrin 16B

״ואחרי אחיתפל בניהו בן יהוידע ואביתר ושר צבא למלך יואב״. ״אחיתופל״⁠ – זה יועץ, וכן הוא אומר: ״ועצת אחיתפל אשר יעץ וגו׳״. ו״בניהו בן יהוידע״⁠ – זו סנהדרין. ״אביתר״⁠ – אלו אורים ותומים.

It is: And after Ahithophel was Benaiah, son of Jehoiada; and Ebiathar; and the general of the king’s army, Yoav (see I Chronicles 27:34). The individuals named in this verse correspond to the roles in the aggada as follows: Ahithophel is the advisor whose counsel they sought first with regard to going to war, and so it says: “Now the advice of Ahithophel, which he counseled in those days, was like that of a man who inquires of the word of God; so was the counsel of Ahithophel both with David and with Absalom” (II Samuel 16:23). And Benaiah, son of Jehoiada corresponds to the Sanhedrin, since he was the head of the Sanhedrin, and Ebiathar corresponds to the Urim VeTummim, as Ebiathar, son of Ahimelech the priest would oversee inquiries directed to the Urim VeTummim (see I Samuel 23:9).

וכן הוא אומר: ״ובניהו בן יהוידע על הכרתי ועל הפלתי״. ולמה נקרא שמן כרתי ופלתי? כרתי ⁠– שכורתין דבריהן, ופלתי ⁠– שמופלאין מעשיהן. ואחר כך ״שר הצבא למלך יואב״.

And so it says with regard to the position of Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, as head of the Sanhedrin: “And Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, was over the Kereti and over the Peleti” (II Samuel 20:23). And why was the Sanhedrin called Kereti and Peleti? It was called Kereti because they were decisive [shekoretin] in their pronouncements. It was called Peleti because their actions and wisdom were wondrous [shemufla’in], as Peleti and mufla’in share the same root. According to the order of the verse, upon being instructed by King David to go to war, the rabbis first consulted with Ahithophel, then with the Sanhedrin, and then they would ask the Urim VeTummim; and only after that was the general of the king’s army, Yoav, given the command to ready the army for battle.