1 Kings 2:28
in 1 Kings 2When the news reached Joab, who had conspired with Adonijah but not with Absalom, he fled to the tent of the LORD and took hold of the horns of the altar.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the tidings came to Joab; for Joab had turned after Adonijah, though he turned not after Absalom. And Joab fled unto the Tent of Jehovah, and caught hold on the horns of the altar.
KJV
Then tidings came to Joab: for Joab had turned after Adonijah, though he turned not after Absalom. And Joab fled unto the tabernacle of the Lord, and caught hold on the horns of the altar.
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This verse in 1 Kings 2
Commentary
7 notes on this verseJoab runs to the tent for two reasons: first of all, in order to escape his death, if possible; second, because he imagined that, if he were killed in that place, the tent of God would become polluted as a consequence of his death, and …
This site's exposition
caught hold on the horns of the altar
on 1 Kings 2:28-30
Joab had not backed Absalom's revolt but did back Adonijah's, and news of Adonijah's death sends him to the horns of the altar, the asylum Exodus 21:14 explicitly denies a man guilty of premeditated murder rather than accidental killing. Benaiah's summons and Joab's flat refusal, Nay, but I will die here, force the question whether the altar can shelter a man the law already excludes from it.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
The debt he owed to the innocent blood that was shed, by answering its cries with the blood of him that shed, he could not pay himself, but left it to his son to pay it, who, having power wherewithal, failed not to do it.
Then tidings came to Joab,....
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
Tidings came to Joab - He heard that Adonijah had been slain and Abiathar banished, and probably he had heard of David’s dying charge to Solomon. Fearing therefore for his personal safety, he takes refuge at the tabernacle, as claiming Divine protection, and desiring to have his case decided by God alone; or perhaps a spark of remorse is now kindled; and, knowing that he must die, he wishes to die in the house of God, as it were under the shadow, that he might receive the mercy of the Almighty.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
He now fled to the altar, which, though a recognized asylum, afforded no sanctuary to the rebel and murderer (Ex 21:14). And, as he refused to leave it, he seems to have cherished some faint hope that a religious scruple would have been felt at the thought of violating the sanctity of the place by bloodshed.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Joab followed the example of Adonijab (margin reference). The tabernacle was now at Gibeon 1Ki 3:4; 1Ch 16:39.
The words behind it
21 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְהַשְּׁמֻעָה֙ | vehashemuah | and the report | H8052 → | |
| בָּ֣אָה | baah | it came | H935 → | 2568 times |
| עַד־ | ʾad- | to | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| יוֹאָ֔ב | yoav | Joab | H3097 → | 144 times |
| כִּ֣י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| יוֹאָ֗ב | yoav | Joab | H3097 → | 144 times |
| נָטָה֙ | natah | he had turned aside | H5186 → | 214 times |
| אַחֲרֵ֣י | ʾacharei | after | H310 → | 715 times |
| אֲדֹנִיָּ֔ה | ʾadoniyah | Adonijah | H138 → | 26 times |
| וְאַחֲרֵ֥י | veacharei | and after | H310 → | 715 times |
| אַבְשָׁל֖וֹם | ʾavshalom | Absalom | H53 → | 110 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| נָטָ֑ה | natah | he had turned aside | H5186 → | 214 times |
| וַיָּ֤נָס | vaiyanos | and he fled | H5127 → | 159 times |
| יוֹאָב֙ | yoav | Joab | H3097 → | 144 times |
| אֶל־ | ʾel- | to | H413 → | 5510 times |
| אֹ֣הֶל | ʾohel | [the] tent of | H168 → | 345 times |
| יְהוָ֔ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וַֽיַּחֲזֵ֖ק | vaiyachazek | and he took hold | H2388 → | 291 times |
| בְּקַרְנ֥וֹת | bekarnot | on [the] horns of | H7161 → | 76 times |
| הַמִּזְבֵּֽחַ׃ | hamizbeach | the altar | H4196 → | 401 times |
וְהַשְּׁמֻעָה֙and the report
vehashemuahH8052 →
בָּ֣אָהit came
baahH935 →2568 times
עַד־to
ʾad-H5704 →1261 times
יוֹאָ֔בJoab
yoavH3097 →144 times
כִּ֣יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
יוֹאָ֗בJoab
yoavH3097 →144 times
נָטָה֙he had turned aside
natahH5186 →214 times
אַחֲרֵ֣יafter
ʾachareiH310 →715 times
אֲדֹנִיָּ֔הAdonijah
ʾadoniyahH138 →26 times
וְאַחֲרֵ֥יand after
veachareiH310 →715 times
אַבְשָׁל֖וֹםAbsalom
ʾavshalomH53 →110 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
נָטָ֑הhe had turned aside
natahH5186 →214 times
וַיָּ֤נָסand he fled
vaiyanosH5127 →159 times
יוֹאָב֙Joab
yoavH3097 →144 times
אֶל־to
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
אֹ֣הֶל[the] tent of
ʾohelH168 →345 times
יְהוָ֔הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
וַֽיַּחֲזֵ֖קand he took hold
vaiyachazekH2388 →291 times
בְּקַרְנ֥וֹתon [the] horns of
bekarnotH7161 →76 times
הַמִּזְבֵּֽחַ׃the altar
hamizbeachH4196 →401 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Exodus 27:2Make a horn on each of its four corners, so that the horns are of one piece, and overlay it with bronze.
it leads to
- Psalms 118:27
The LORD is God; He has made His light to shine upon us. Bind the festal sacrifice with cords to the horns of the altar.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 118:27
Through
1 Kings 1:7So Adonijah conferred with Joab son of Zeruiah and with Abiathar the priest, who supported him.
it leads to
- 2 Samuel 20:25
Sheva was the scribe; Zadok and Abiathar were priests;
- 1 Kings 2:22
King Solomon answered his mother, “Why do you request Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? Since he is my older brother, you might as well request the kingdom for him and for Abiathar the priest…
- 2 Samuel 20:25
Through
2 Samuel 18:2He sent out the troops, a third under Joab, a third under Joab’s brother Abishai son of Zeruiah, and a third under Ittai the Gittite. And the king said to the troops, “I will…
it leads to
- Judges 7:16
And he divided the three hundred men into three companies and gave each man a ram’s horn in one hand and a large jar in the other, containing a torch.
- 2 Samuel 15:19–22
Then the king said to Ittai the Gittite, “Why should you also go with us? Go back and stay with the new king, since you are both a foreigner and an exile from your…
- Judges 7:16
Through
1 Kings 1:50But Adonijah, in fear of Solomon, got up and went to take hold of the horns of the altar.
it leads to
- Exodus 27:2
Make a horn on each of its four corners, so that the horns are of one piece, and overlay it with bronze.
- Exodus 38:2
He made a horn at each of its four corners, so that the horns and altar were of one piece, and he overlaid the altar with bronze.
- Exodus 21:14
But if a man schemes and acts willfully against his neighbor to kill him, you must take him away from My altar to be put to death.
- Exodus 27:2
About 1 Kings

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Ishodad of Merv, BOOKS OF SESSIONS 1 KINGS 2:28; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Keil, The Books of the Kings and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
