Bible Strands
1 Kings 2:29
It was reported to King Solomon: “Joab has fled to the tent of the LORD and is now beside the altar.” So Solomon sent Benaiah son of Jehoiada, saying, “Go, strike him down!”
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The text reports that news reached King Solomon about Joab’s flight to the sanctuary, prompting Solomon to command Benaiah son of Jehoiada to execute him. This occurs immediately after Joab takes refuge at the altar following his failed conspiracy with Adonijah.
The words — וַ/יֻּגַּ֞ד (va/i.yu.Gad) translates literally as “and it was told,” marking the passive report that triggers the king’s response. נָ֤ס (nas) means “he had fled,” describing Joab’s desperate retreat to the tent of the LORD.
The thread — The sanctuary refuge motif echoes Exodus 21:14, which permits removing a scheming murderer from the altar, and aligns with Solomon’s earlier use of Benaiah to execute Adonijah in 1 Kings 2:25. The narrative continues in 1 Kings 2:31, where Solomon orders Joab’s burial to purge the house of David from unavenged blood.
Why it lands — The passage demands recognition that political consolidation overrides traditional sanctuary asylum when a ruler commands execution. It requires the reader to observe how divine refuge yields to royal decree without moral commentary from the text itself.
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
And it was told king Solomon that Joab was fled unto the tabernacle of the Lord; and, behold, he is by the altar. Then Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, Go, fall upon him.
Cross-references
- 1 Kings 2:25 So King Solomon gave orders to Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and he struck down Adonijah and he died.
- 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.
- 1 Kings 2:31 And the king replied, “Do just as he says. Strike him down and bury him, and so remove from me and from the house of my father the innocent blood that Joab shed.
- 1 Kings 2:46 Then the king commanded Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and he went out and struck Shimei down, and he died. Thus the kingdom was firmly established in the hand of Solomon.
- Ezekiel 9:6 Slaughter the old men, the young men and maidens, the women and children; but do not go near anyone who has the mark. Now begin at My sanctuary.” So they began with the elders who were before the temple.
- 1 Peter 4:17 For it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who disobey the gospel of God?