1 Samuel 24:14

“After whom is the king of Israel come out? etc.] From his court and palace, with an army of men, and at the head of them: after whom dost thou pursue? with such eagerness and fury: after a dead dog; as David was in the opinion, and according to the representation of his enemies, a dog, vile, mean, worthless, of no account; a dead dog, whose name was made to stink through the calumnies cast upon him; and if a dead dog, then as he was an useless person, and could do no good, so neither could he do any hurt, not so much as bark, much less bite; and therefore it was unworthy of so great a prince, a lessening, a degrading of himself, as well as a vain and impertinent thing, to pursue after such…”

“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? return to 'Top of Page'”

“the king: Sa2 6:20; Kg1 21:7 a dead dog: Sa1 17:43; Sa2 3:8, Sa2 9:8, Sa2 16:9 a flea: Sa1 26:20; Jdg 8:1-3 1 Kings (1 Samuel) 24:15”

“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…”