1 Kings 1:50

1:50 Adonijah feared Solomon, so he got up and went and grabbed hold of the horns of the altar. ¹ 

1 Kings 22:11

22:11 Zedekiah son of Kenaanah made iron horns and said, “This is what the Lord says, ‘With these you will gore Syria until they are destroyed.’”

1 Kings 1:39

1:39 Zadok the priest took a horn filled with olive oil ²  from the tent and poured it on ³  Solomon; the trumpet was blown and all the people declared, “Long live King Solomon!”

1 Kings 1:51

1:51 Solomon was told, “Look, Adonijah fears you; ⁴  see, he has taken hold of the horns of the altar, saying, ‘May King Solomon solemnly promise ⁵  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 ⁶  Adonijah, although he had not supported Absalom), he ⁷  ran to the tent of the Lord and grabbed hold of the horns of the altar. ⁸ 

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 “the horn of oil.” This has been specified as olive oil in the translation for clarity.

³ tn Or “anointed.”

³ tn Heb “King Solomon.” The name and title have been replaced by the pronoun (“you”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

⁴ tn Or “swear an oath to.”

⁴ tn Heb “turned after” (also later in this verse).

⁵ tn Heb “Joab.” The proper name has been replaced by the pronoun (“he”) in the translation for stylistic reasons.

⁶ 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.