The snake melon, Cucumis melo flexuosus, is a cucurbit esteemed in Mediterranean lands from antiquity to the present day. The qishu’im (singular - qishut ) of biblical memory was mistranslated in Europe as cucumber, however Israeli research confirms it is the snake melon or qishut. Images of snake melons/qishut appear in ancient Egyptian wall paintings and sculptures.  The Hebrew word ‘piqqus' refers to the removal of the fuzzy hairs of young cucurbit, from which the Arabic name is ‘faqqous’ was derived. Piqqus is explained in the Mishna, the second-century code of Jewish Oral Law. 

Qishu’im are discussed more than any other cucurbit  in the Jewish codices known as the Mishna and the Tosefta, compiled in Israel circa 200 CE and 300 CE. One of the tractates in the Mishna, ‘Oqazin  2:1  contains a pun ‘qishut shel qishut' meaning the dense, soft downiness of the quishut. One aspect concerning the qishut in these codices was the need for piqqus - the removal of  downy hairs prior to eating. This discussion among rabbinical sages was elaborated in the Jerusalem Talmud, completed in Israel circa 400 CE, and the Babylonian Talmud, completed in Iraq circa 600 CE. In the latter work (Tractate Berakhot  57b), it is written that the great sage and compiler of the Mishna, Yehuda ha Nasi, often placed qishu’im  on his table to honor his many visitors.  

References
Semitic-language records of snake melons (Cucumis melo, Cucurbitaceae) in the medieval period and the “piqqus” of the “faqqous”, Dr H. Paris

Etensive research on the qishut has been conducted by the esteemed Dr Shtayah of BERC.
See https://staff-old.najah.edu/sites/default/files/10.1007_s10722-015-0329-0.pdf
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