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Selected Verse: 1 Samuel 24:14 - Strong Concordance

Verse	Translation	Text
1Sa 24:14	Strong Concordance	After [0310] whom is the king [04428] of Israel [03478] come out [03318]? after [0310] whom dost thou pursue [07291]? after [0310] a dead [04191] dog [03611], after [0310] a [0259] flea [06550].
	King James	After whom is the king of Israel come out? after whom dost thou pursue? after a dead dog, after a flea.

Summary Of Commentaries Associated With The Selected Verse

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Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834]
After whom ... - i. e., was it consistent with the dignity of the king of Israel to lead armies in pursuit of a weak and helpless individual like David?

Notes on the Bible, by Albert Barnes, [1834]

After whom ... - i. e., was it consistent with the dignity of the king of Israel to lead armies in pursuit of a weak and helpless individual like David?

Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78]
And even if he should wish to attack the king, he did not possess the power. This thought introduces Sa1 24:14 : "After whom is the king of Israel gone out? After whom dost thou pursue? A dead dog, a single flea." By these similes David meant to describe himself as a perfectly harmless and insignificant man, of whom Saul had no occasion to be afraid, and whom the king of Israel ought to think it beneath his dignity to pursue. A dead dog cannot bite or hurt, and is an object about which a king ought not to trouble himself (cf. Sa2 9:8 and Sa2 16:9, where the idea of something contemptible is included). The point of comparison with a flea is the insignificance of such an animal (cf. Sa1 26:20).

Commentary on the Old Testament, by Carl Friedrich Keil and Franz Delitzsch [1857-78]

And even if he should wish to attack the king, he did not possess the power. This thought introduces Sa1 24:14 : "After whom is the king of Israel gone out? After whom dost thou pursue? A dead dog, a single flea." By these similes David meant to describe himself as a perfectly harmless and insignificant man, of whom Saul had no occasion to be afraid, and whom the king of Israel ought to think it beneath his dignity to pursue. A dead dog cannot bite or hurt, and is an object about which a king ought not to trouble himself (cf. Sa2 9:8 and Sa2 16:9, where the idea of something contemptible is included). The point of comparison with a flea is the insignificance of such an animal (cf. Sa1 26:20).

Adam Clarke Commentary on the Whole Bible - Published 1810-1826
After a dead dog - A term used among the Hebrews to signify the most sovereign contempt; see Sa2 16:9. One utterly incapable of making the least resistance against Saul, and the troops of Israel. The same idea is expressed in the term flea. The Targum properly expresses both thus: one who is weak, one who is contemptible.

Adam Clarke Commentary on the Whole Bible - Published 1810-1826

After a dead dog - A term used among the Hebrews to signify the most sovereign contempt; see Sa2 16:9. One utterly incapable of making the least resistance against Saul, and the troops of Israel. The same idea is expressed in the term flea. The Targum properly expresses both thus: one who is weak, one who is contemptible.

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