David at the cave of Adullam thus addressed his persecutor Saul (1 Samuel 24:14): "After whom is the king of Israel come out? after whom dost thou pursue? after a dead dog, after a flea?" He thus speaks of himself as the poor, contemptible object of the monarch's pursuit, a "worthy object truly for an expedition of the king of Israel with his picked troops!" This insect is in Eastern language the popular emblem of insignificance. In 1 Samuel 26:20 the LXX. read "come out to seek my life" instead of "to seek a flea."

Noah Webster's New International Dictionary of the English Language

1. (v. t.) To flay.

2. (n.) An insect belonging to the genus Pulex, of the order Aphaniptera. Fleas are destitute of wings, but have the power of leaping energetically. The bite is poisonous to most persons. The human flea (Pulex irritans), abundant in Europe, is rare in America, where the dog flea (P. canis) takes its place.