So, the idea of Paul is found in nuce inside the idea itself of Saul.
Now Dubourg finds a curious coincidence in the immediate context of the passage above:
18 Saul approached Samuel in the gateway and asked, “Would you please tell me where the seer’s house is?”
19 “I am the seer,” Samuel replied. “Go up ahead of me to the high place, for today you are to eat with me, and in the morning I will send you on your way and will tell you all that is in your heart. 20 As for the donkeys you lost three days ago, do not worry about them; they have been found. And to whom is all the desire of Israel turned, if not to you and your whole family line?”
21 Saul answered, “But am I not a Benjamite, from the smallest tribe of Israel, and is not my clan the least of all the clans of the tribe of Benjamin? Why do you say such a thing to me?”
in other terms, only after that Samuel reveals his intentions for Saul — the rule on all Israel (verse 20) — and only immediately after, well two references to 'PAULUS' ("the least", "the smallest") appear in verse 21.
Little 'coincidence': In Acts, Saul becomes Paul only after his conversion.
I fear now that Dubourg has the strongest argument.
How can you reasonably still argue for a historical Paul, having read this post?