"And it was told Solomon, 'Behold, Adonijah fears King Solomon and has caught hold of the horns of the altar, saying, "Let King Solomon swear to me first that he will not slay his servant with the sword."'" — The news reaches Solomon: Adonijah has seized the altar and demands Solomon's *oath* that Adonijah will not be killed. The phrase *im-yishma' li ha-melekh Shlomoh shevua'ah ki lo hayemit et-avdo be-cherev* (let King Solomon swear to me that he will not slay his servant with the sword) is a conditional oath-demand. Adonijah acknowledges Solomon's authority (calling him *ha-melekh*) and his own vulnerability as *avdo* (servant). The *sword* (*cherev*) is the instrument of judicial execution. Adonijah's demand for an oath shows he understands that only a solemn covenant oath would constrain Solomon's power to execute him.

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