1 Samuel 10:3

3 `And thou hast passed on thence, and beyond, and hast come in unto the oak of Tabor, and found thee there have three men going up unto God to Beth-El, one bearing three kids, and one bearing three cakes of bread, and one bearing a bottle of wine,

1 Samuel 10:3 Meaning and Commentary

1 Samuel 10:3

Then shall thou go on forward from thence
From Zelzah and Rachel's sepulchre there:

and thou shall come to the plain of Tabor;
not that which lay at the bottom of the famous and well known mountain Tabor; for that was in the tribe of Zebulun, at a great distance from hence: but a plain, so called perhaps from the name of the owner of it:

and there shall meet thee three men going up to God to Bethel:
the same with Luz, where Jacob built an altar, and called upon God; and so Elohimbethel here is the same with Elbethel, ( Genesis 35:6 Genesis 35:7 ) . Here was an high place as at Ramah, whither in those times, when there was no fixed place for worship, the tabernacle at one place, and the ark at another, the people went up to worship; and they might the rather choose this, because it was a place devoted to the worship and service of God by their father Jacob; so the Targum paraphrases it,

``going up to worship God in Bethel;''

so Josephus ^F3, they were going thither to pray, and, as it seems by what follows, to sacrifice: one carrying three kids; which were used in sacrifice, and were a pretty heavy load if carried far; though, according to Josephus ^F4, it was but one kid:

and another carrying three loaves of bread;
for the minchah, the meat offering, or rather bread offering, ( Leviticus 2:4 )

and another carrying a bottle of wine;
for the drink offering, the fourth part of an hin of wine being required for each kid, ( Numbers 15:5 Numbers 15:11 ) . This bottle, Ben Melech says, was a bottle made of skin, a leathern bottle or bag, or a potter's vessel or pitcher; the Targum renders it, a flagon of wine.

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FOOTNOTES:

F3 Antiqu. l. 6. c. 4. sect. 2.
F4 lbid.

1 Samuel 10:3 In-Context

1 And Samuel taketh the vial of the oil, and poureth on his head, and kisseth him, and saith, `Is it not because Jehovah hath appointed thee over His inheritance for leader?

2 In thy going to-day from me -- then thou hast found two men by the grave of Rachel, in the border of Benjamin, at Zelzah, and they have said unto thee, The asses have been found which thou hast gone to seek; and lo, thy father hath left the matter of the asses, and hath sorrowed for you, saying, What do I do for my son?

3 `And thou hast passed on thence, and beyond, and hast come in unto the oak of Tabor, and found thee there have three men going up unto God to Beth-El, one bearing three kids, and one bearing three cakes of bread, and one bearing a bottle of wine,

4 and they have asked of thee of welfare, and given to thee two loaves, and thou hast received from their hand.

5 `Afterwards thou dost come unto the hill of God, where the garrison of the Philistines [is], and it cometh to pass, at thy coming in thither to the city, that thou hast met a band of prophets coming down from the high place, and before them psaltery, and tabret, and pipe, and harp, and they are prophesying;