Charles Ellicott 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)

Thou shalt come to the plain of Tabor. —The accurate translation of the Hebrew is “to the terebinth or oak of Tabor.” There was evidently a history, now lost, connected with the “terebinth of Tabor.” Ewald suggests that “Tabor” is a different form for Deborah, and that this historic tree was the oak beneath which Deborah, the nurse of Rachel, was buried (Genesis 35:8).

Going up to God to Beth-el. —This had been a sacred spot since the old patriarchal days. Samuel used to visit it as judge and hold his court there annually, no doubt because of the number of pilgrims who regularly visited it. These men were evidently on a pilgrimage to the old famous shrine.