Albert Barnes Commentary 1 Samuel 10:3

"Then shalt thou go on forward from thence, and thou shalt come to the oak of Tabor; and there shall meet thee there three men going up to God to Beth-el, one carrying three kids, and another carrying three loaves of bread, and another carrying a bottle of wine:" — 1 Samuel 10:3 (ASV)

The plain of Tabor — This should be read as “the oak or terebinth of Tabor” (Judges 4:11). It has been ingeniously conjectured that “Tabor” is either a different form of “Deborah” or a corruption of it. If this is the case, the “oak of Tabor” would be the same as Allon-bachuth—the oak under which Deborah was buried, which lay “beneath Bethel” (Genesis 35:8).

The terebinth where the three men came upon Saul must have been located at a point before the road leading north from Jerusalem branches off. When they reached that junction, they would have continued to Bethel with their offerings, while he pursued his journey to Gibeah.