And Adonias fearing Solomon, arose, and went, and took hold on the horn of the altar.

and Adonijah feareth because of Solomon, and riseth, and goeth, and layeth hold on the horns of the altar.

And Adonijah himself was full of fear because of Solomon; and he got up and went to the altar, and put his hands on its horns.

Then Adonijah, fearing Solomon, rose up and went away. And he took hold of the horn of the altar.

On the "horns" of the altar, see Exodus 27:2 note. The altar to which Adonijah fled was probably in the "tabernacle" already referred to 1-Kings 1:39.

Adonijah feared - He knew he had usurped the kingdom, and had not his father's consent; and, as he finds now that Solomon is appointed by David, he knows well that the people will immediately respect that appointment, and that his case is hopeless; he therefore took sanctuary, and, fleeing to the tabernacle, laid hold on one of the horns of the altar, as if appealing to the protection of God against the violence of men. The altar was a privileged place, and it was deemed sacrilege to molest a man who had taken refuge there. See 1-Kings 2:28.

And Adonijah feared because of Solomon, and arose, and went, and caught hold on the horns of the (t) altar.
(t) Which David his father had built in the floor of Araunah, (2-Samuel 24:25).

And Adonijah feared because of Solomon,.... Lest he should seize him as an usurper and traitor, and put him to death:
and arose, and went, and caught hold on the horns of the altar; either that which was at Gibeon, where the tabernacle now was; see 1-Kings 3:4; so Jarchi; or rather that which was nearest, the altar that David had built in the threshingfloor of Araunah, 2-Samuel 24:25; the altar was a sort of asylum, or refuge, for such who had committed any crime worthy of death; not by divine appointment, but by custom, it being supposed that none would presume to defile with blood that which was sacred to the Lord; or shed the blood of men where the blood of beasts was poured; or use severity and strict justice, but mercy, where sacrifices were offered to atone for sin, and mercy was shown on account of them; these were notions, and this a custom, which obtained very early, and even among the Jews; see Exodus 21:14; as well as among Gentiles; with whom it was usual, as to flee to the statues of their emperors, and to the temples of their deities, so likewise to their altars; this was customary among the Molossians, Samothracians, Crotoniatae, and Messenians; and particularly the altar of Jupiter Servator was an asylum, or place of refuge, to the Ithacians (l). Cornelius Nepos (m) has given us an instance of one that fled to a temple of Neptune, and sat upon the altar for his security, as here Adonijah laid hold on the horns of this, that none might force him from it.
(l) Alexander ab Alex. Genial. Dier. l. 3. c. 20. (m) Vit. Pausan l. 4. c. 4.

ADONIJAH, FLEEING TO THE HORNS OF THE ALTAR, IS DISMISSED BY SOLOMON. (1-Kings 1:50-53)
Adonijah . . . went, and caught hold on the horns of the altar--most probably the altar of burnt offering which had been erected on Mount Zion, where Abiathar, one of his partisans, presided as high priest. The horns or projections at the four corners of the altar, to which the sacrifices were bound, and which were tipped with the blood of the victim, were symbols of grace and salvation to the sinner. Hence the altar was regarded as a sanctuary (Exodus 21:14), but not to murderers, rebels, or deliberate perpetrators. Adonijah, having acted in opposition to the will of the reigning king, was guilty of rebellion, and stood self-condemned. Solomon spared his life on the express condition of his good behavior--living in strict privacy, leading a quiet, peaceable life, and meddling with the affairs of neither the court nor the kingdom.