Bible Strands
1 Kings 2:28
When 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.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The narrator records Joab’s reaction after Solomon’s decree against his allies reaches him. He flees to the sanctuary and grasps the altar’s horns to seek protection.
The words — The Hebrew phrase נָטָה אַחֲרֵי (na.Tah 'a.cha.Rei) literally means "he turned aside after," describing Joab’s political alignment with Adonijah’s faction.
The thread — This flight mirrors Adonijah’s earlier appeal for sanctuary in 1 Kings 1:50, while 2 Samuel 18:2 shows Joab actively commanding troops against Absalom rather than shunning that conflict.
Why it lands — The text requires readers to see that political maneuvering and ritual refuge cannot override royal judgment. Fleeing to sacred space does not halt the execution of sovereign consequences.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
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.
Cross-references
- 1 Kings 1:7 So Adonijah conferred with Joab son of Zeruiah and with Abiathar the priest, who supported him.
- 1 Kings 1:50 But Adonijah, in fear of Solomon, got up and went to take hold of the horns of the altar.
- 2 Samuel 18:2 He 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 surely march out with you as well.”
- 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.
- Deuteronomy 32:35 Vengeance is Mine; I will repay. In due time their foot will slip; for their day of disaster is near, and their doom is coming quickly.”
- 2 Samuel 17:25 Absalom had appointed Amasa over the army in place of Joab. Amasa was the son of a man named Ithra, the Ishmaelite who had married Abigail, the daughter of Nahash and sister of Zeruiah the mother of Joab.
- 2 Samuel 18:14 But Joab declared, “I am not going to wait like this with you!” And he took three spears in his hand and thrust them through the heart of Absalom while he was still alive in the oak tree.