קִשֻּׁא
a cucumber (from the difficulty of digestion)
Definition
קִשֻּׁא (qishshuʼ) refers specifically to a cucumber, a common vegetable in the ancient Near East. Its single biblical occurrence in Numbers 11:5 highlights it as one of the foods the Israelites fondly remembered from Egypt, contrasting with their current diet of manna in the wilderness. The traditional gloss 'from the difficulty of digestion' stems from its etymological connection to a root meaning 'to be hard,' though this likely describes the vegetable's firm texture rather than a digestive property. No other biblical passages use this word, so its meaning remains consistent and specific.
Biblical Usage
This word is used only once in the Old Testament, in Numbers 11:5. It appears in a complaint narrative where the Israelites, weary of manna, nostalgically list the flavorful foods they ate in Egypt, saying, 'We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons...' Its usage is purely descriptive within a list of garden produce, serving to illustrate the perceived hardship and monotony of wilderness life compared to their former situation.
Etymology
The noun קִשֻּׁא (qishshuʼ) is derived from an unused Hebrew root likely meaning 'to be hard,' referring to the vegetable's firm, crisp texture. It is a cognate with similar words in related Semitic languages, such as Arabic 'qiṯṯaʿ' and Aramaic 'qishshuʼa,' both meaning 'cucumber.' This stable linguistic background confirms its specific identification as a common garden vegetable.
Semantic Range
In the ancient Near East, cucumbers were a standard, refreshing garden crop, cultivated in Egypt and Canaan. They required irrigation and were a valued part of the daily diet. The Israelites' longing for cucumbers in Numbers 11:5 was not just for a vegetable, but for a symbol of settled, agricultural life and dietary variety, which stood in stark contrast to their nomadic existence and divinely provided but monotonous manna. This highlights a conflict between human desire for familiar comforts and trust in God's provision.
אֲבַטִּיחַ (ʼăbaṭṭîach, H20) — This is the specific word for 'melon' (often a muskmelon) that appears paired with cucumber (קִשֻּׁא) in Numbers 11:5, indicating another prized, thirst-quenching garden fruit.
Word Details
How this works
Hebrew definitions are from Brown-Driver-Briggs (1906) and Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (1890), both public domain. BDB was groundbreaking for its era but reflects 19th-century assumptions about Semitic etymology. Modern scholarship (HALOT, DCH) has revised many entries. Use these definitions as a starting point for exploration, not as the final word on a term's meaning in context.
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