Charles Ellicott Commentary 1 Samuel 16:4

"And Samuel did that which Jehovah spake, and came to Beth-lehem. And the elders of the city came to meet him trembling, and said, Comest thou peaceably?" — 1 Samuel 16:4 (ASV)

Trembled at his coming. —The appearance of the aged seer, with the heifer and the long horn of holy oil, at first terrified the villagers of the quiet, secluded Bethlehem. The name and appearance of the old seer were well known in all the coasts of Israel. Why had he come so suddenly among them? Had their still remote township then been the scene of some unknown and grave crime? What was happening in Israel, which brought Samuel the seer to little Bethlehem?