Numbers 11:5; 'abatchim . The Arabs call the water melon (Cucumis citrullus ) batech . Cultivated on the Nile banks after the inundation from May to July. It is meat, drink and physic to the Egyptians. The common melon (Cucumis melo ) also grows well in Egypt. The same heat (in God's gracious providence) which dries up the animal frame fills with refrigerant liquid the vegetables and fruits of this class.