Because of an invasion (probably of Assyrians), Daughter Zion is left like a hut in a “cucumber field” (Isaiah 1:8). It’s clearly an image of diminished glory: Jerusalem or the temple was once a glory of the earth, now it’s no more than a hut.
But Isaiah probably chose the word because it forms a pun. Cucumber field is miqshah while “sanctuary” is miqdash (built from qadash , “holy”). Daughter Zion has been reduced from Yahweh’s holy dwelling place, His miqdash , to a lowly bungalow.
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