Charles Ellicott Commentary 1 Samuel 19:20

"And Saul sent messengers to take David: and when they saw the company of the prophets prophesying, and Samuel standing as head over them, the Spirit of God came upon the messengers of Saul, and they also prophesied." — 1 Samuel 19:20 (ASV)

The company of the prophets. — (On the general question of this company of prophets, see Excursus H, at the end of this Book.) The Hebrew word rendered “company” occurs only in this place, but the ancient versions agree in rendering it “company” or “assembly.” The Chaldee paraphrase here states: “they saw the company of the scribes praising, and Samuel standing over them teaching.”

And they also prophesied. — Like so much that happened among the chosen people during their eventful trial period, the circumstance related here does not belong to ordinary natural experience.

The words which immediately precede suggest the only possible explanation of the strange occurrence: “The Spirit of God was upon these messengers of Saul.” Ewald thus graphically paraphrases the Biblical record of this scene: “It is related of those who started with the most hostile intentions against the prophets and their pupils, that as they approached, they suddenly stood still, spellbound by the music and solemn dance of the devotees; then, more and more powerfully drawn by the same Spirit into the charmed circle, they broke forth into similar words and gestures; and then, flinging away their upper garments, they joined in the dance and the music, and sinking down into ecstatic quivering, utterly forgot the hostile spirit in which they had come...

“The same thing happened to new messengers a second, indeed, a third time. Then Saul himself, enraged, rushed to Ramah ... and as he looked down from the hill upon the school, and heard the loud pealing songs rising from it, he was seized by the Divine Spirit; and when he at last reached the spot, he sank into the same condition of enthusiasm still more deeply than all the messengers whom he had previously sent.”