1 Kings 1:50-51

1:50 Adonijah feared Solomon, so he got up and went and grabbed hold of the horns of the altar. ¹  1:51 Solomon was told, “Look, Adonijah fears you; ²  see, he has taken hold of the horns of the altar, saying, ‘May King Solomon solemnly promise ³  me today that he will not kill his servant with the sword.’”

1 Kings 2:28

2:28 When the news reached Joab (for Joab had supported ⁴  Adonijah, although he had not supported Absalom), he ⁵  ran to the tent of the Lord and grabbed hold of the horns of the altar. ⁶ 

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.

² tn Heb “King Solomon.” The name and title have been replaced by the pronoun (“you”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

³ tn Or “swear an oath to.”

³ tn Heb “turned after” (also later in this verse).

⁴ tn Heb “Joab.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

⁵ 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, Joab was seeking asylum from Solomon.