What is the meaning of 1 Kings 1:50?

But Adonijah

• Adonijah is David’s fourth son (2 Samuel 3:4) who, just verses earlier, tried to proclaim himself king while David still lived (1 Kings 1:5–10).

• Scripture presents him as self-promoting, gathering chariots, horsemen, and supporters in open defiance of God’s revealed choice of Solomon (1 Chronicles 22:9–10).

• His name leads every clause here because the narrative now pivots from his arrogance to his reaction when confronted with God’s sovereign plan.

---

in fear of Solomon

• Once Solomon is anointed (1 Kings 1:38–40), Adonijah instantly recognizes the legitimacy and power of Solomon’s kingship.

• The fear is literal—he knows treason was punishable by death (Deuteronomy 17:12).

• Similar sudden reversals occur when Haman fears Esther and the king (Esther 7:6) or when Belshazzar trembles at Daniel’s reading (Daniel 5:6, 30), showing how God swiftly humbles the proud.

---

got up

• The wording marks immediate action; Adonijah wastes no time.

• Rising from his self-made throne of celebration (1 Kings 1:25), he moves from feasting to fleeing—an outward picture of inner panic (Proverbs 16:18).

---

and went

• He heads straight for a place associated with God’s presence—the altar at Gibeon or, more likely, the one in Jerusalem near the Ark (1 Chronicles 21:29; 2 Samuel 24:25).

• Movement toward sacred space for protection foreshadows Joab’s similar flight (1 Kings 2:28) and recalls fugitives clinging to holy places for sanctuary (Numbers 35:11).

---

to take hold of the horns of the altar

• The altar had protruding “horns” on its corners (Exodus 27:2). Touching them was a physical appeal for mercy, as if laying one’s life before God (Psalm 118:27).

• God allowed asylum for the innocent (Exodus 21:13), but not for the guilty murderer; Adonijah hopes Solomon will view his offense as pardonable rebellion rather than blood-guilt.

• The scene anticipates Solomon’s test of mercy in 1 Kings 1:51–53 and illustrates how even the proud must bow at God’s appointed place (Philippians 2:10).

---

summary

Adonijah, the self-appointed heir, instantly shifts from pride to panic once God’s chosen king, Solomon, is enthroned. In literal fear for his life, he rises, flees, and grabs the altar’s horns, publicly confessing that only divine mercy—administered through God’s true king—can spare him. The verse highlights God’s sovereign reversal of human schemes and points to the refuge found when sinners humbly seek mercy at God’s ordained place.