FLEA
A very small wingless parasitic insect that feeds on blood; a dangerous pest in that it can transmit bubonic plague and typhus. Fleas are common in Palestine. There is even a saying: “The king of the fleas holds his court at Tiberias.” But with the advent of hot weather the number of fleas gradually decreases. In the larval stage the flea is not parasitic nor are the eggs laid on a host. They are merely dropped on floors of dwellings or where infected animals sleep, and the maggotlike larvae live on decaying matter.
Fleas are usually reddish brown and have short front and middle legs but long hind legs. The flea’s strong and spiny legs as well as its flat sides enable it to move with ease and rapidity through the hairs or feathers of its host. The short rearward-pointing hairs covering this insect’s oval-shaped body not only permit the flea to move forward readily but also make it more difficult for the victim to remove it. In the case of sheep’s wool, however, this pest gets so hopelessly entangled that it is unable to get out. The flea’s small head is equipped with a beak that is used to pierce the skin of its victim, causing the blood to flow. Its leaping ability is phenomenal. Although less than an eighth of an inch (.3 centimeter) long, the flea that lives on humans can jump more than a foot (.3 meter) horizontally and nearly eight inches (.2 meter) vertically.
In Scripture the flea is mentioned only twice. When David was being pursued by King Saul, he questioned the king: “After whom are you chasing? . . . After a single flea?” By comparing himself to a flea David emphasized his littleness in comparison with Saul, thus showing that it was hardly worth while for the king to chase after him. (1 Sam. 24:14) First Samuel 26:20 conveys a similar thought, but in the Septuagint Version the words “look for a single flea” read “look for my soul.”