Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible (1898)
MEL'ONS. Num 11:5. Melons of all kinds have ever been largely cultivated in Egypt, and during the heat of summer often form the chief food and drink of the lower classes. The muskmelon was grown there at the time of the Exodus, and perhaps the watermelon, which came from Persia. "A traveller in the East who recollects the intense gratitude which a gift of a slice of melon inspired while journeying over the hot and dry plains will readily
comprehend the regret with which the Hebrews in the Arabian desert looked back upon the melons of Egypt." — Kitto.