What precise animal was meant by the word Seirim cannot be ascertained, nor is it even certain whether the word signified any particular species at all. The ancient commentators identified Seirim with the semi-human creatures of mythology, known as Satyrs, and strengthened this opinion by a reference to Lev. xvii. 7, where the Israelites are warned against worshipping Seirim, or "devils" according to our translation. In common with all the civilized world, they fully believed that Satyrs were veritable inhabitants of the woods and deserts, with forms half man half goat, with powers more than human, and with passions below humanity. Of course we cannot now accept such an interpretation, but must grant, either that a mere metaphor of desolation was intended, or that the prophecy alluded to various wild animals that inhabit deserted places. Accept which interpretation we will, it is impossible to identify any particular animal with the "Satyr" of Isaiah, and therefore it will be better to decline giving any opinion on a subject which cannot be definitely explained. THE BAT. The Bat mentioned always with abhorrence--Meaning of the Hebrew name--The prohibition against eating Bats--The edible species, their food and mode of life--The noisome character of the Bat, and the nature of its dwelling-place--Its hatred of light--Baruch and his prophecy--Appropriateness of the prophecy--Singular Mahommedan legend respecting the original creation of the Bat--The legend compared with the apocryphal gospels--The Bats of Palestine--Mr. Tristram's discoveries--Bats found in the quarries from which the stone of the Temple was hewn--Edible Bats in a cave near the centre of Palestine--Another species of long-tailed Bat captured in the rock caves where hermits had been buried--Other species which probably inhabit Palestine. Among the animals that are forbidden to be eaten by the Israelites we find the BAT prominently mentioned, and in one or two parts of Scripture the same creature is alluded to with evident abhorrence. In Isaiah ii. 20, for example, it is prophesied that when the day of the Lord comes, the worshippers of idols will try to hide themselves from the presence of the Lord, and will cast their false gods to the bats and the moles, both animals being evidently used as emblems of darkness and ignorance, and associated together for a reason which will be given when treating of the mole. The Hebrew name of the Bat is expressive of its nocturnal habits, and literally signifies some being that flies by night, and it is a notable fact that the Greek and Latin names for the bat have also a similar derivation.