Cucumber first occurs in , in the verse where the Israelites, when in the desert, express their longings for the melons and the cucumbers of Egypt. All travelers in the East notice the extensive cultivation and consumption of cucumbers and other herbs of the same tribe, especially where there is any moisture of soil, or the possibility of irrigation. Thus even in the driest parts, the neighborhood of a well is often occupied by a field of cucurbitaceous plants, generally with a man or boy set to guard it from plunder, perched up on a temporary scaffolding, with a slight protection from the sun, where he may himself be safe from the attacks of the more powerful wild animals. That such plants appear to have been similarly cultivated among the Hebrews is evident from , 'The daughter of Zion is left like a cottage in a vineyard, like a lodge in a garden of cucumbers;' as well as from Letter of Jeremiah 6:70, 'As a scarecrow in a garden of cucumbers keepeth nothing, so are their gods of wood.'