Watermelon
Plants and Trees in the Bible
The watermelon plant is a vine like a pumpkin or a squash. The fruits vary widely in size, shape and color, some being striped, others being plain colored (mostly dark or light green).
Pictures
In the Bible
The Hebrew and Greek words for it, and every verse where each is used
אֲבַטִּיחַ ’avattiach · 1 verse
What it stands for
According to , watermelons were among the fruits that the wandering Israelites remembered from Egypt when they complained to Moses.
More about it
Most scholars believe the Hebrew word ’avattiach refers to the Common Watermelon Citrullus vulgaris /lanatus, and it should be so identified since there are other types of melons, such as the muskmelon, with which it should not be confused. In fact, until recently, some botanists thought that this word referred to the muskmelon. Watermelons probably originated in Africa (possibly in the Kalahari) and were probably domesticated in the Neolithic Period. They have been cultivated in Egypt since prehistoric times and are used for food, drink, and medicine. Even the seeds are eaten. The Arabic cognate batekh /batikh is used for both the muskmelon and the watermelon.
Also in Melon
Sources
Plants and Trees in the Bible, Animals in the Bible and Human-made Things in the Bible © United Bible Societies, 2025 (adapted from Each According to its Kind: Plants and Trees in the Bible by Robert Koops, All Creatures Great and Small: Living Things in the Bible by Edward R. Hope, and The Works of Their Hands: Man-made Things in the Bible by Ray Pritz), CC BY-SA 4.0; adapted for eRhema