11 It happened, when all who knew him before saw that, behold, he prophesied with the prophets, then the people said one to another, "What is this that is come to the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?"
*Minor differences ignored. Grouped by changes, with first version listed as example.
And it came to pass, that when all that knew him before time,.... As there must be many that personally knew him, and were acquainted with him, since Gibeah, the place he was near to, was his native place:
saw that, behold, he prophesied among the prophets; or praised among them, as the Targum, sung psalms and hymns with them:
what is this that is come unto the son of Kish? a rustic, a plebeian, that never was in the school of the prophets, or learned music, and yet is as dexterous at it as any of them:
is Saul also among the prophets? an husbandman, an herdsman that looked after his father's farms, fields, and cattle, and now among the prophets of the Lord, bearing his part with them, and performing it as well as any of them: this was matter of wonder to those who knew his person, family, and education; and so it was equally matter of admiration that Saul the persecutor, one of the same tribe, should be among the preachers of the Gospel, Acts 9:20.
When those who had known Saul of old saw that he prophesied with the prophets, the people said one to another, "What has happened to the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?" This expression presupposes that Saul's previous life was altogether different from that of the disciples of the prophets.
Is Saul - A man never instructed, nor exercised in, nor inclined to these matters.
*More commentary available at chapter level.