Bible Synapse

When did “Is Saul also among the prophets?” become a saying?

Hard question · Israel’s history: Joshua to Esther · raised by 1 of the lists sceptics circulate

Two different events
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The passages

1 Samuel 10:10–12

Newly anointed, Saul prophesied with a band of prophets; people asked “Is Saul also among the prophets?”, and “it became a proverb”.

And when they came thither to the hill, behold, a company of prophets met him; and the Spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them. And it came to pass, when all that knew him beforetime saw that, behold, he prophesied among the prophets, then the people said one to another, What is this that is come unto the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets? And one of the same place answered and said, But who is their father? Therefore it became a proverb, Is Saul also among the prophets?

1 Samuel 19:23–24

Years later at Naioth, Saul prophesied before Samuel and lay down all day and night: “Wherefore they say, Is Saul also among the prophets?”

And he went thither to Naioth in Ramah: and the Spirit of God was upon him also, and he went on, and prophesied, until he came to Naioth in Ramah. And he stripped off his clothes also, and prophesied before Samuel in like manner, and lay down naked all that day and all that night. Wherefore they say, Is Saul also among the prophets?

The objection

1 Samuel 10:12 says that the saying “Is Saul also among the prophets?” arose when the newly anointed Saul prophesied with a band of prophets near Gibeah. 1 Samuel 19:24 seems to give it a different origin: Saul prophesying before Samuel at Naioth, years later. Critics ask which story explains the proverb.

The answer

Both do, because the proverb arose on the first occasion and was renewed on the second. 1 Samuel 10:12 tells how it began: people who had known Saul before were astonished to see the son of Kish prophesying, and “it became a proverb”. 1 Samuel 19:24 does not say that the saying began there. It says “Wherefore they say”: this second event gave people fresh reason to repeat it. Keil and Delitzsch note that the words imply only that the proverb received a new instance, its origin having already been told in chapter 10.

The two occasions fit the saying in different ways. The first time, the surprise was that a man with no known link to the prophets should be found among them; someone asked, “But who is their father?” (10:12). The second time the surprise was sharper. The king who was hunting David was overcome by the Spirit of God on his way to seize him, and lay helpless before Samuel. A proverb that fitted the start of Saul’s reign came to fit it again near its end, and a saying used on two occasions does not give two conflicting accounts of where it came from.

From the classic commentators

The words "wherefore they say" do not imply that the proverb was first used at this time, but only that it received a new exemplification and basis in the new event in Saul's experience.Keil & Delitzsch, Commentary on 1 Samuel 19

Sources

Further reading

Raised by: The Skeptic’s Annotated Bible. Only the verse references come from these lists.

Checked 2026-10-22. All hard questions