Cucumbers

(Num. 11:5)—a garden plant, well known in the East, especially in Egypt. Cucumbers, melons, and onions constitute at the present day the chief produce of Egypt. Cucumbers occur in a great many varieties; some of them are highly prized for their medicinal properties. To protect cucumbers from thieves and birds, an earthen mound is erected in the center of the garden plot, from which the whole area occupied by the garden can be surveyed, and on top of it a small hut is set up for a watchman.

For two or three months this poor watchman carries out his difficult duty despite storms and foul weather. The prophet Isaiah likens the city of Jerusalem, allegorically called the daughter of Zion, to a lodge in a vineyard, a hut in a garden of cucumbers (1:8). Just as these huts were abandoned by their watchmen once the cucumbers had been gathered from the gardens, so likewise the great capital city was to serve as a temporary refuge, but was soon, like them, to be destroyed and abandoned.

This prophecy was fulfilled in the various calamities of Jerusalem, and especially when the Jews were led away captive to Babylon (2 Chron. 36:19). A similar allegory is used in the Book of Job (27:18). That cucumbers constituted a savory garden produce is evident from the following: the Hebrews wept, remembering the melons and cucumbers of Egypt (Num. 11:5). In Palestine cucumbers first appear in April and May and grow until July. Long, snake-shaped cucumbers come onto the market in the field season. Small cucumbers, or gherkins, are not brought to the markets of Egypt before the month of September.