He prophesied - This, as the effect of the evil spirit coming upon him, is singular as regards Saul, but is borne out by what we read in 1 Kings 22:22. (Compare Acts 16:16; Acts 19:15; 1 John 4:1). It is impossible to give the sense of “raving” to the word “prophesied,” as though a merely natural state of frenzy were intended. The “prophesying” here was as directly the effect of the coming of the evil spirit upon Saul, as the “prophesying” in 1 Samuel 10:10 was the effect of the Spirit of God coming upon him. At the same time it is quite true that “madness” and “prophesyings” were considered as near akin (see Jeremiah 29:26; 2 Kings 9:11).

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