1 Kings 1:50

The horns of the altar] The altar intended was probably one erected in or before the tent that sheltered the ark: see on 1 Kings 1:39 and cp. 1 Kings 2:29; 1 Kings 3:15. The horns were projections at the four corners (Exodus 27:2), to which the victim to be sacrificed may have been attached (Psalms 118:27), and which were sometimes smeared with its blood (Exodus 29:12). It was customary for homicides to seek refuge at the altar of the Lord from the avengers of blood, but deliberate murderers might be dragged from it (Exodus 21:14). A similar right of asylum belonged to heathen temples in classical times and to Christian churches in the middle ages.