Biblical References:
Melons are mentioned in the Bible in the context of the Israelites' journey through the wilderness after their exodus from Egypt. The specific reference to melons is found in Numbers 11:5, where the Israelites express their longing for the foods they enjoyed in Egypt: "We remember the fish we ate freely in Egypt, along with the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic" .

Historical and Cultural Context:
In the ancient Near East, melons were a common and valued food source. The term "melons" in the biblical text likely refers to a variety of fruits that were cultivated in Egypt and the surrounding regions. These could include what we know today as watermelons and other similar fruits. The fertile Nile Delta provided an ideal environment for growing such produce, making them readily available to the Egyptians and, by extension, to the Israelites during their time in bondage.

Symbolism and Significance:
The mention of melons in Numbers 11:5 is significant as it highlights the Israelites' struggle with contentment and their tendency to romanticize their past in Egypt, despite the harsh conditions of slavery. The longing for melons and other foods symbolizes a deeper spiritual issue: the temptation to prioritize physical comforts over spiritual freedom and obedience to God. This yearning for the familiar comforts of Egypt reflects a lack of trust in God's provision and a failure to appreciate the miraculous sustenance He provided in the form of manna.

Theological Implications:
From a theological perspective, the Israelites' craving for melons serves as a cautionary tale about the dangers of nostalgia and ingratitude. It underscores the importance of faith and reliance on God's promises, even when the path He leads us on is challenging. The narrative invites believers to examine their own lives for areas where they might be clinging to past comforts instead of embracing the new life and freedom offered through faith in God.

Practical Lessons:
The account of the Israelites' desire for melons encourages believers to cultivate a heart of gratitude and trust in God's provision. It serves as a reminder to focus on the spiritual nourishment that God provides and to resist the temptation to look back longingly at a life of bondage to sin. By doing so, believers can experience the fullness of life that comes from walking in obedience and faith.

In summary, melons in the biblical narrative are more than just a physical food; they represent the broader themes of contentment, trust, and the spiritual journey of God's people.Melons

(Heb. abattichim) are mentioned only in (Numbers 11:5) By the Hebrew word we are probably to understand both the melon (Cumcumis melo) and the watermelon (Cucurbita citrullus). The watermelon, which is now extensively cultivated in all hot countries, is a fruit not unlike the common melon, but the leaves are deeply lobed and gashed; the flesh is pink or white, and contains a large quantity of cold watery juice with out much flavor; the seeds are black.

Melons

Are common in the East, but do not differ particularly form ours. Watermelons grow luxuriantly in Palestine, even in dry and sandy soil. They are a delicious fruit in a hot climate, and were among the articles of food for which the Hebrews pined in the desert, Numbers 11:5.

Only in Numbers 11:5, the translation of the Hebrew abattihim, the LXX. and Vulgate pepones, Arabic britikh. Of this plant there are various kinds, the Egyptian melon, the Cucumus chate, which has been called "the queen of cucumbers;" the water melon, the Cucurbita citrullus; and the common or flesh melon, the Cucumus melo. "A traveller in the East who recollects the intense gratitude which a gift of a slice of melon inspired while journeying over the hot and dry plains, will readily comprehend the regret with which the Hebrews in the Arabian desert looked back upon the melons of Egypt" (Kitto). MELONS

mel'-unz (`abhattichim; compare Arabic battikh, the "water melon"; pepones): In Numbers 11:5, the melon is referred to as common in Egypt, and there can be no doubt that the variety indicated is the watermelon (Citrullus vulgaris) which is indigenous in tropical Africa. It has been cultivated in Egypt since the earliest times.

20. abattich -- watermelon
... 19, 20. abattich. 21 . watermelon. Transliteration: abattich Phonetic
Spelling: (ab-at-tee'-akh) Short Definition: melons. Word ...
/hebrew/20.htm - 5k

Description of the Symbol of the Hands among the Manich??ans.
... Indeed, you sometimes go so far as to say that an usurer is more harmless than
a cultivator,"you feel so much more for melons than for men. ...
/.../chapter 17 name of the.htm

Proceeding to the History of Israel, Tertullian Shows that ...
... here have come into our mind the fish which in Egypt we were wont to eat freely,
and the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the ...
/.../chapter v proceeding to the history.htm

Egypt.
... that it has left brings up most beautiful grass, and fine crops of corn with seven
or nine ears to one stalk; grand fruits of all kinds, melons, pumpkins, and ...
//christianbookshelf.org/yonge/the chosen people/lesson iii egypt.htm

Song of the Emigrants in Bermuda
... in a green night, And does in the pomegranates close Jewels more rich than Ormus
shows: He makes the figs our mouths to meet, And throws the melons at our feet ...
/.../wells/bible stories and religious classics/song of the emigrants in.htm

Some of God's Laws Defended as Good, which the Marcionites ...
... encouraging continence, and recognise in it a bridle imposed on that appetite which,
while eating angels' food, craved after the cucumbers and melons of the ...
/.../tertullian/the five books against marcion/chapter xviii some of gods laws.htm

Of the Excellent Value which Sacred Love Gives to the Actions ...
... And as seeds which of themselves would only bring forth insipid melons, would bring
forth sugared and musked ones, if they were steeped in sugared or mucked ...
/.../francis/treatise on the love of god/chapter vi of the excellent.htm

February the Eighteenth the Subtlety of Temptation
... attire. In the Boer War ammunition was carried out in piano cases, and
military advices were transmitted in the skins of melons. ...
/.../february the eighteenth the subtlety.htm

Song of the Emigrants in Bermuda
... Jewels more rich than Ormus shows: He makes the figs our mouths to meet,. And throws
the melons at our feet; But [55]apples plants of such a price,. ...
/.../palgrave/the treasury of sacred song/xcix song of the emigrants.htm

How Admirable the Divine Providence is in the Diversity of Graces ...
... If one should ask why God made melons larger than strawberries, or lilies larger
than violets, why the rosemary is not a rose, or why the pink is not a marigold ...
/.../francis/treatise on the love of god/chapter vii how admirable the.htm

How we Can Attain Perfection in Each of These Sorts of ...
... to murmur in the same way: "It was well with us in Egypt, when we sat over the flesh
pots and ate the onions, and garlic, and cucumbers, and melons:" [1222] A ...
/.../cassian/the works of john cassian /chapter vii how we can.htm

Melons (2 Occurrences)
... journeying over the hot and dry plains, will readily comprehend the regret with
which the Hebrews in the Arabian desert looked back upon the melons of Egypt ...
/m/melons.htm - 8k

Food (2953 Occurrences)
... cucumbers. melons. leeks. ... bad. The poor in such cities as Cairo, Beirut and
Damascus live largely on bread and cucumbers or melons. ...
/f/food.htm - 36k

Melt (33 Occurrences)

/m/melt.htm - 17k

Vine (76 Occurrences)
... round a fixed object, or by seizing anything with its tendrils, or claspers; a creeper;
as, the hop vine; the bean vine; the vines of melons, squashes, pumpkins ...
/v/vine.htm - 46k

Onions (1 Occurrence)
... Numbers 11:5 We remember the fish, which we ate in Egypt for nothing; the cucumbers,
and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlic; (WEB KJV ...
/o/onions.htm - 7k

Leeks (1 Occurrence)
... Numbers 11:5 We remember the fish, which we ate in Egypt for nothing; the cucumbers,
and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlic; (WEB KJV ...
/l/leeks.htm - 7k

Garlic (1 Occurrence)
... Numbers 11:5 We remember the fish, which we ate in Egypt for nothing; the cucumbers,
and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlic; (WEB KJV ...
/g/garlic.htm - 8k

Garlick (1 Occurrence)
... Numbers 11:5 We have remembered the fish which we do eat in Egypt for nought, the
cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlick ...
/g/garlick.htm - 6k

Wont (19 Occurrences)
... Numbers 11:5 We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt for nought; the cucumbers,
and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlic: (See JPS ...
/w/wont.htm - 12k

Fruit (318 Occurrences)
... 2. (n.) The pulpy, edible seed vessels of certain plants, especially those grown
on branches above ground, as apples, oranges, grapes, melons, berries, etc. ...
/f/fruit.htm - 40k

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