8 Bulletin of the Brooklyn Entomological Society Vol. XII 



Lilith. In the margin of the. King James version the words 

 "night monster" are suggested instead of screech owl, and this 

 change was adopted in the Revised version. It was supported 

 and probably originally suggested by several of the more schol- 

 arly mediaeval Rabbis. This is quite in keeping with Lihth, also, 

 coming from men best acquainted with the Lilith tradition and 

 at a time when it held strongest sway over men's minds. 



In Mohammedan countries where story telling is highly devel- 

 oped the Lilith myth has assumed many forms. Not the least 

 interesting is one which Fitz Nigle quotes in the N. Y. Tribune 

 as having obtained from his Egyptian guide. 



" It was said she was formed in beauty's mould with clay let 

 down from heaven and to Adam joined on the side by a hgament 

 like the Siamese twins, but that they quarrelled, so that the Lord 

 cut them in twain with a flaming sword, and Lilith with her 

 daughter, the fair Zelinda, wandered off to the land of Nod, 

 where later on she became a witch-cat, while in the meantime 

 Cain, as is mentioned in the Scriptures, went out into the land of 

 Nod and took a wife — namely, Lilith's daughter. 



" In regard to Eve, Adam's second wife, the legend states that 

 a short time thereafter a pimple grew on Adam's leg, which at- 

 tained a very great size, and one day, when he scratched it, out 

 popped Eve, who quickly grew to womanhood and was married to 

 Adam. In the meantime the devil was watching proceedings, and 

 asked Eve if she knew that Adam had had another wife, and she 

 replied that she suspected that her husband had not told her about 

 his past life. Then the devil asked her if she would like to get 

 even with him and she replied in the affirmative. Then he told 

 her to go into the garden and pick some of the grain which the 

 Lord told them they should not eat and give it to Adam, which 

 she did, and when they, as the Bible states, fell from their high 

 estate and were banished from the garden the Lord gave Eve a 

 couple of cats to comfort her in her affliction. 



" Later on it is said that these cats were the ones which Noah 

 intended to take in the ark, but his wife, the unbeheving Norida, 

 who hated cats, protested against it. However, he insisted, and 

 as they were walking up the gangplank his wife suddenly pulled 

 it in and threw them down into the water, which was boiling hot, 



