Verse 9
When Saul went away from Samuel, to return to Gibeah, “God changed to him another heart,” - a pregnant expression for “God changed him, and gave him another heart” (see at 1Sa 10:6); and all these signs (the signs mentioned by Samuel) happened on that very day. As he left Samuel early in the morning, Saul could easily reach Gibeah in one day, even if the town where he had met with Samuel was situated to the south-west of Rachel's tomb, as the distance from that tomb to Gibeah was not more than three and a half or four hours.
Verse 10
The third sign is the only one which is minutely described, because this caused a great sensation at Gibeah, Saul's home. “And they (Saul and his attendant) came thither to Gibeah.” “Thither” points back to “thither to the city” in 1Sa 10:5, and is defined by the further expression “to Gibeah” (Eng. version, “to the hill:” Tr.). The rendering ἔκειθεν (lxx) does not warrant us in changing שׁם into משּׁם; for the latter would be quite superfluous, as it was self-evident that they came to Gibeah from the place where they had been in the company of Samuel.
Verse 11
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.
Verse 12
And one from thence (i.e., from Gibeah, or from the crowd that was gathered round the prophets) answered, “And who is their father?” i.e., not “who is their president?” which would be a very gratuitous question; but, “is their father a prophet then?” i.e., according to the explanation given by Oehler (Herzog's Real. Enc. xii. p. 216), “have they the prophetic spirit by virtue of their birth?” Understood in this way, the retort forms a very appropriate “answer” to the expression of surprise and the inquiry, how it came to pass that Saul was among the prophets. If those prophets had not obtained the gift of prophecy by inheritance, but as a free gift of the Lord, it was equally possible for the Lord to communicate
