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Kedar
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ke'-dar (blackness; sorrow, dark-skinned)
RELATED: Ishmael |
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Easton's Bible Dictionary
dark-skinned
(1) The second son of Ishmael ( Genesis
25:13 ).
(2) It is the name for the nomadic tribes of Arabs, the Bedouins generally ( Isaiah
21:16 ; 42:11
; 60:7
; Jeremiah
2:10 ; Ezekiel
27:21 ), who dwelt in the north-west of Arabia. They lived in black hair-tents
(Cant
1:5 ). To "dwell in the tents of Kedar" was to be cut off from the worship
of the true God ( Psalms
120:5 ). The Kedarites suffered at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar ( Jeremiah
49:28 , 49:29
).
Hitchcock's Dictionary of Bible Names
blackness; sorrow
Smith's Bible Dictionary
(dark-skinned)
The second in order of the sons of Ishmael, ( Genesis
25:13 ; 1
Chronicles 1:29 ) and the name of a great tribe of Arabs settled on the northwest
of the peninsula and on the confines of Palestine. The "glory of Kedar" is recorded
by the prophet Isaiah, ( Isaiah
21:13 - 17
) in the burden upon Arabia; and its importance may also be inferred from the
"princes of Kedar" mentioned by Ezekiel, ( Ezekiel
27:21 ) as well as the pastoral character of the tribe. They appear also to
have been, like the wandering tribes of the present day, "archers" and "mighty
men." ( Isaiah
21:17 ) comp. Psalms
120:5 That they also settled in villages or towns we find from Isaiah. ( Isaiah
42:11 ) The tribe seems to have been one of the most conspicuous of all the
Ishmaelite tribes, and hence the rabbins call the Arabians universally by this
name.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
ke'-dar (qedhar; Kedar):
Second in order of the sons of Ishmael (Genesis 25:13 parallel 1 Chronicles
1:29). The name occurs as typical of a distant eastern country in opposition to
the lands of the Mediterranean (Jeremiah 2:10). The author of Second Isa introduces
this tribe in company with Nebaioth, and both are represented as owners of flocks
(Isaiah 60:7). Evidence of their nomadic habits appears in Jeremiah 49:28 , 29,
where they are classed among the Bene-Qedhem, and mention is made of their flocks,
camels, tents, curtains and furniture. They are spoken of (Isaiah 42:11) as dwelling
in chatserim ("villages"), from which it would appear that they were a somewhat
settled tribe, corresponding to the Arabic chadariya or "town-dwellers," as distinct
from wabariya or "nomads." Ezekiel (27:21) gives another hint of their pastoral
nature where, in his detailed picture of the wealth of Tyre, Kedar and Arabia
provide the Tyrians with lambs, rams and goats. The fame of the tribe is further
reflected in Isaiah 21:16 , 17 (the only allusion to their might in war), and
in the figurative references to their tents (Psalm 120:5 ; Song of Solomon 1:5).
In this last passage where the tents are made symbolic of dark beauty, the word
qadhar ("to be black") may have been in the writer's mind.
The settlements of Kedar were probably in the Northwest of Arabia, not far from
the borders of Israel. Assyrian inscriptions have thrown light upon the history
of the tribe. There Kedar is mentioned along with the Arabs and Nebaioth, which
decides its identity with Kedar of the Old Testament, and there is found also
an account of the conflicts between the tribe and King Assurbanipal (see Margoliouth
in HDB).
Of the Ishmaelite tribes, Kedar must have been one of the most important, and
thus in later times the name came to be applied to all the wild tribes of the
desert. It is through Kedar (Arabic, keidar) that Muslim genealogists trace the
descent of Mohammed from Ishmael.
A. S. Fulton
Tags:
bible commentary, bible history, bible reference, bible study, define, kedar, qedhar, son of ishmael, tribe of arabs
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