Text -- 1 Kings 1:49-53 (NET)

1:49 All of Adonijah’s guests panicked; they jumped up and rushed off their separate ways. 1:50 Adonijah feared Solomon, so he got up and went and grabbed hold of the horns of the altar. 1:51 Solomon was told, “Look, Adonijah fears you; see, he has taken hold of the horns of the altar, saying, ‘May King Solomon solemnly promise me today that he will not kill his servant with the sword.’” 1:52 Solomon said, “If he is a loyal subject, not a hair of his head will be harmed, but if he is found to be a traitor, he will die.” 1:53 King Solomon sent men to bring him down from the altar. He came and bowed down to King Solomon, and Solomon told him, “Go home.”

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: 1Ki 1:49

¹ tn Or “were afraid, trembled.”

NET Notes: 1Ki 1:50

¹ sn Grabbed hold of the horns of the altar. The “horns” of the altar were the horn-shaped projections on the four corners of the altar (see Exod 27:2). By going to the holy place and grabbing hold of the horns of the altar, Adonijah was seeking asylum from Solomon.

NET Notes: 1Ki 1:51

¹ tn Heb “King Solomon.” The name and title have been replaced by the pronoun (“you”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

² tn Or “swear an oath to.”

NET Notes: 1Ki 1:52

¹ tn Heb “if he is a man of strength [or ability].” In this context, where Adonijah calls himself a “servant,” implying allegiance to the new king, the phrase אִישׁ חַיִל (’ish khayil) probably carries the sense of “a worthy man,” that is, “loyal” (see HALOT 311 s.v. חַיִל).

² tn Heb “but if evil is found in him.”

NET Notes: 1Ki 1:53

¹ tn Heb “sent and they brought him down.”

² tn Heb “Go to your house.”