1 SAMUEL 19:24 — KING JAMES VERSION 1 0
“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?”
And the Spirit of God came upon him also, and he went prophesying until he came to Naioth in Ramah — Saul too falls under the power of the *Ruach*, and his journey to Naioth becomes a prophetic procession (*va'yit naggev ad*). The verb *va'yit naggev* suggests dancing, ecstatic movement, Saul transformed by the Spirit into a prophet despite his murderous intent. The final detail—*va'yishlof et begadav gam hu*, he stripped off his clothes also—marks the extreme of Saul's possession, his dignified kingship dissolved in prophetic ecstasy. The verse concludes with the ironic notation *v'hu niggaf al pnei Shmuel yom va'laylah*, he lay naked before Samuel day and night, suggesting Saul's utter vulnerability before the prophetic power. This episode reveals that the LORD, not Saul, controls the destiny of Israel's king; when Saul attempts to strike against David, the LORD himself intervenes, turning Saul's strength into weakness, his pursuit into humiliation.
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