1 Samuel 26:20

before the face of the Lord Slay me not, lest Jehovah avenge my blood upon thee. But it is possible to render "far from the presence of Jehovah:" i.e. let me not die a violent death in a heathen land: and this suits the context better.

a flea A single flea. Cp. 1 Samuel 24:14. The Sept. however reads instead, perhaps rightly, "my life."

a partridge "David alludes to the mode of chase practised now as of old, when the partridge continuously chased was at length, when fatigued, knocked down by sticks thrown along the ground. It must be remembered that both the species of partridge common in the Holy Land, unlike our bird, endeavour to save themselves by running in preference to flight, unless when suddenly started; that they are not inhabitants of plains or cornfields but of rocky hill-sides." The Hebrew name means "caller," from "its ringing call-note, which in early morning echoes from cliff to cliff alike amidst the barrenness of the wilderness of Judaea, and in the glens of the forest of Carmel." Tristram, Natural History of the Bible, p. 225.

David means to say that the King of Israel's pursuit of him is altogether unworthy of his dignity.