אבטיח

Hebrew

Pronunciation

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Etymology 1

Root
ב־ט־ח (b-ṭ-ḥ)

Cognate with Aramaic אֲבַטִּיחָא and Arabic بَطِيخ (baṭīḵ), mentioned once, in the plural form, in the Hebrew Bible, Numbers 11:5 "זָכַרְנוּ אֶת־הַדָּגָה אֲשֶׁר־נֹאכַל בְּמִצְרַיִם חִנָּם; אֵת הַקִּשֻּׁאִים וְאֵת הָאֲבַטִּחִים". In the King James Version, אבטיחים is translated into "melons" rather than "watermelons": "We remember the fish, which we did eat in Egypt freely; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks".

Noun

אֲבַטִּיחִים (the fruit)

אֲבַטִּיחַ • ('avaṭṭíaḥ) m (plural indefinite אֲבַטִּיחִים)

1. (biblical) some species of fruit similar to the modern watermelon or melon
   • Tanach, Numbers 11:5, with translation of the Jewish Publication Society:

     זָכַרְנוּ אֶת־הַדָּגָה אֲשֶׁר־נֹאכַל בְּמִצְרַיִם חִנָּם אֵת הַקִּשֻּׁאִים וְאֵת הָאֲבַטִּחִים וְאֶת־הֶחָצִיר וְאֶת־הַבְּצָלִים וְאֶת־הַשּׁוּמִים׃

     zakhárnu 'et-hadagá 'asher-nokhál b'mitsráyim khinám 'ét hakishu'ím v'ét ha'avatikhím v'et-hekhatsír v'et-hab'tsalím v'et-hashumím.
     zāḵárnū ʾeṯ-haddāḡā ʾăšer-nōḵal bəmiṣráyim ḥinnām ʾēṯ haqqiššūʾīm wəʾēṯ hāʾăḇaṭṭīḥīm wəʾeṯ-heḥāṣīr wəʾeṯ-habbəṣālīm wəʾeṯ-haššūmīm.

     We remember the fish, which we were wont to eat in Egypt for nought; the cucumbers, and the melons, and the leeks, and the onions, and the garlic;

2. watermelon (fruit of the species Citrullus lanatus)
3. watermelon (plant of the species Citrullus lanatus)

References

• H20 in Strong, James (1979) Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible
• “אבטיח” in the Hebrew Terms Database of the Academy of Hebrew Language

Further reading

• אבטיח on the Hebrew Wikipedia.Wikipedia ^he

Etymology 2

Root
ב־ט־ח (b-ṭ-ḥ)

Verb

אַבְטִיחַ • ('avṭíaḥ)

1. First-person singular future (prefix conjugation) of הִבְטִיחַ (hivtíakh): I will promise.