1 Samuel 16:4

And Samuel did that which the Lord spake,.... He filled a horn of oil, and took an heifer with him:

and came to Bethlehem; where Jesse and his family lived, which, according to Bunting (y), was…

Trembled - There was evidently something unusual in Samuel’s coming to Bethlehem; and the elders, knowing that Samuel was no longer at friendship with Saul, foreboded some evil.

The elders of the town trembled at his coming - They knew he was a prophet of the Lord, and they were afraid that he was now come to denounce some judgments of the Most High against their city.

Samuel had retired to his own house in Ramah, with a resolution not to appear any more in public business, but to addict himself wholly to the instructing and training up of the sons of the prophets,…

Beth-lehem Beth-lehem ("house of bread") was the later name of the ancient town of Ephrath(Gen 48:7). It was situated about five miles south of Jerusalem, a short distance east of the road from…