Kedar

Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary

The son of Ishmael.His ( Genesis 25:13) name signifies, blackness. The posterity of Kedar dwelt in the deserts called Arabia-deserta, ( Isaiah 42:11) and their employment was chiefly that of keeping cattle. They dwelt in tents made of hair cloth, which from the alternate heat of the scorching sun, and heavy rains beating on them, gave a dirty blackness rather forbidding to the eye of the traveller. And this may serve to explain to us, in some measure, those passages in Holy Writ in which the church complains of her sorry appearance. "Woe is me, that I am constrained to dwell with Mesech, and to have my habitation among the tents of Kedar." ( Psalms 120:5) The expression is figurative, meaning, that in this world a child of God finds himself not at home, nor those with whom he sojourns favourable to the promotion of the work of grace in the heart; and hence the soul goes lean from day to day, and to her own view appears wretched and black, like the tents of Kedar. The spouse in the Canticles makes use of a similar expression in relation to herself, while taking comfort from the consciousness how differently she appeared in the eyes of her Lord from his beauty put upon her. "I am black, but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon." ( Song of Song of Solomon 1:5) And the whole doctrine is blessedly explained  Ezekiel 16:1-14. Indeed, the spouse's figure of the black tents of Kedar, and the golden curtains of Solomon, that is, the wretchedness of a desert, and the rich tapestry of a palace, is very obvious. Believers, considered in themselves, and carrying about with them, as they do, a body of sin and death, are always black. Hence mount Sinai covenant is represented as a dispensation, like the mount itself, of blackness and darkness and terror; because it set forth that dread of conscience which filled the mind when under a conscious sense of having broken it. On the other hand, the covenant of promise full of grace and mercy, giving as it doth, a joy and peace in believing to the soul, lightens the countenance, and makes the child of God comely. The apostle Paul hath beautifully set these things forth in his allegory. ( Galatians 4:22-26) I only add, how blessed it is to have such views as the church had, in one and the same moment, of ourselves. Considered in nature, we are black as the tents of Kedar; viewed in grace, comely as the curtains of Solomon; and still going humble and softly all our days, from the consciousness of the remains of indwelling corruption; still taking comfort in the assurance, that we are "beautiful as Tirzah, comely as Jerusalem, and terrible as an army of banners." ( Song of Song of Solomon 6:4)

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

KEDAR . The name of a nomadic people, living to the east of Palestine, whom P [Note: Priestly Narrative.] (  Genesis 25:13 ) regards as a division of the Ishmaelites. Jeremiah (  Jeremiah 49:28 ) counts them among the ‘sons of the East,’ and in   Jeremiah 2:10 refers to them as symbolic of the East, as he does to Citium in Cyprus as symbolic of the West. In Isaiah (  Isaiah 21:17 ) they are said to produce skilful archers, to live in villages (  Isaiah 42:11 ), and (  Isaiah 60:7 ) to be devoted to sheep-breeding. The latter passage also associates them with the Nebaioth . Jeremiah alludes also (  Jeremiah 49:29 ) to their nomadic life, to their sheep, camels, tents, and curtains. Ezekiel (  Ezekiel 27:21 ) couples them with ‘Arab. [Note: Arabic.] ’ and speaks of their trade with Tyre in lambs, rams, and goats. In   Psalms 120:5 Kedar is used as the type of barbarous unfeeling people, and in   Song of Solomon 1:5 their tents are used as a symbol of blackness. The Assyrian king Ashurbanipal (b.c. 668 626), in his account of his Arabian campaign (cf. KIB [Note: IB Keilinschriftliche Bibliothek.] ii. 223), mentions the Kedarites in connexion with the Aribi (the ‘Arab’ of Ezekiel) and the Nebaioth, and speaks of the booty, in asses, camels, and sheep, which he took. It is evident that they were Bedouin, living in black tents such as one sees in the southern and eastern parts of Palestine to-day, who were rich in such possessions as pertain to nomads, and also skilful in war.

George A. Barton.

Holman Bible Dictionary

 Genesis 25:13 1 Chronicles 1:29

The name occurs later in the Bible presumably as a reference to a tribe that took its name from Kedar. Little concrete information is known about the group, however. Apparently the descendants of Kedar occupied the area south of Palestine and east of Egypt ( Genesis 25:18 ). They may best be described as nomadic, living in tents ( Psalm 120:5; Song of  Song of Solomon 1:5 ) and raising sheep and goats ( Isaiah 60:7;  Jeremiah 49:28-29 ,Jeremiah 49:28-29, 49:32 ), as well as camels, which they sold as far away as Tyre ( Ezekiel 27:21 ).

The Kedarites were led by princes ( Ezekiel 27:21 ) and were famous for their warriors, particularly their archers ( Isaiah 21:17 ). They evidently were of some importance during the time of Isaiah ( Isaiah 21:16 ). See Abraham; Ishmael .

Hugh Tobias

Smith's Bible Dictionary

Ke'dar. (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. Compare  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.

Morrish Bible Dictionary

Son of Ishmael, and founder of an important tribe inhabiting the north-west of Arabia, though the name is probably also employed for Arabs generally.  Genesis 25:13;  1 Chronicles 1:29 . The Psalmist desired peace, for he had been dwelling in the tents of Kedar, with those who 'hated peace.'  Psalm 120:5,6 . The bride in  Song of Solomon 1:5 was black, or dark, like the black tents of Kedar. The references to lambs, rams, goats, flocks, camels, tents, and tent-curtains, show that a nomadic people are spoken of, though their, 'villages' are also mentioned. Judgements were pronounced against them.   Isaiah 21:16,17;  Isaiah 42:11;  Isaiah 60:7;  Jeremiah 2:10;  Jeremiah 49:28;  Ezekiel 27:21 .

Watson's Biblical & Theological Dictionary

This name signifies black in the original; and hence Bochart concludes that it refers to a people or tribe of Arabs who were more than others burned by the sun; but none of the Arabs are black. The name is also supposed to refer to the black tents made of felt, which are still in use; and   Song of Solomon 1:5 , is quoted in support of this usage of the word: "I

am black, but comely as the tents of Kedar." But the Arabic root is by some said to signify power and dignity. Kedar was the second son of Ishmael, whose family probably became more numerous, or more warlike, than those of his brethren, and so took precedence of name. This latter supposition appears probable from the manner in which they are mentioned by Isaiah,  Isaiah 21:16-17 , who speaks of "the glory of Kedar," and "the archers and mighty men of Kedar." Their flocks are also spoken of by the same Prophet,  Isaiah 60:7 , together with those of Nebaioth, whose tribe or family both shared and outlived the glory of Kedar.

Fausset's Bible Dictionary

("black skinned".) Ishmael's second son ( Genesis 25:13;  Isaiah 21:16-17;  Isaiah 42:11;  Isaiah 60:7;  Jeremiah 49:28;  Ezekiel 27:21), occupying the pastures and wilds on the N.W. side of Arabia. Representing the Arabs in general, with flocks, and goat's or camel's hair tents, black as their own complexion ( Song of Solomon 1:5;  Psalms 120:5). "I dwell in the tents of Kedar, my soul hath long dwelt with him that hateth peace." Warriors and archers, among the marauding "children" or "men of the East," Bent Kedem; loving strife, true sons of Ishmael, of whom the Angel of Jehovah said "he will be a wild man, his hand will be against every man and every man's hand against him" ( Genesis 16:12).

Easton's Bible Dictionary

 Genesis 25:13

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 ( Song of Solomon 1:5 ). To "dwell in the tents of Kedar" was to be cut off from the worship of the true God ( Psalm 120:5 ). The Kedarites suffered at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar ( Jeremiah 49:28,29 ).

People's Dictionary of the Bible

Kedar ( Kç'Dar ), Dark-Skinned. Second son of Ishmael.  Genesis 25:13. From him descended the leading tribes of Arabia and of the land east of Palestine. They and the country bear the name of Kedar.  Isaiah 21:16;  Jeremiah 49:28. They were nomads, living in black hair-tents,  Song of Solomon 1:5, as the modern Bedouins do, or in villages,  Isaiah 42:11, and were rich in flocks and herds, and noted as archers and mighty men.

American Tract Society Bible Dictionary

A son of Ishmael,  Genesis 25:13 , the father of the Kedarenians or Cedrei, mentioned by Pliny, who dwelt in the neighborhood of the Nabatheans, in Arabia Deserta. They were a numerous and powerful tribe, not of the best reputation,  Psalm 120:5 , and their name is sometimes put for the whole of Arabia Desert and its wandering inhabitants,  Isaiah 21:16,17   42:11 . Their black camel's hair tents are a picturesque feature in a landscape, Song of  Song of Solomon 1:5 .

Bridgeway Bible Dictionary

Kedar was the name of a nomadic tribal group of northern Arabia. The people of Kedar lived in tents, kept flocks of sheep and goats, and dealt shrewdly in various trading activities ( Psalms 120:5;  Isaiah 60:7;  Jeremiah 49:28-29;  Ezekiel 27:21; see Arabia ).

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

(Heb. Kedar', קֵדָר , dark-skinned; Sept. Κηδάρ ), the second son of Ishmael, and founder of the tribe that bore his name ( Genesis 25:13). B.C. post 2061. The name is used in Scripture as that of the Bedouins generally, whose characteristic traits are ascribed to them ( Song of Solomon 1:5;  Isaiah 21:16;  Isaiah 42:11;  Isaiah 60:7;  Jeremiah 2:10;  Jeremiah 49:28;  Ezekiel 27:21); more fully, "sons of Kedar" ( בֶּנֵי קֵדָר ,  Isaiah 21:17); in  Psalms 120:5, Kedar and Mesech are put for barbarous tribes Rabbinical writers expressly identify them with the Arabians (Pseudojon. on Genesis 25, and the Targum on Psalms 120; comp. the Jewish expression " tongue of Kedar" for the Arabic language), and the Arabs acknowledge the paternity (Pococke, Spec. 46). The Kedarenes (as they were called in later times) do not appear to have lived in. the immediate neighborhood of Judcea ( Jeremiah 2:10; comp.  Psalms 120:5). Jerome (Onomast. S.V. Μαδιάν ) places them in the Saracenic desert, on the east of the Red Sea, which identifies them with the Cedrei of Pliny (v, 12) as neighbors of the Nabatheans (comp.  Isaiah 40:7). Stephen of Byzantium reckons them (Κεδρανῖται ) as inhabitants of Arabia Felix; but Theodoret (on Psalms 109) assigns them a locality near Babylon (see Reland, Palcest. p. 86 sq.).

Ptolemy calls them Darrce (Geog. 6:7), evidently a corruption of the ancient Hebrew; and Forster supposes that it is the same people Arrian refers to as the Kanraitce, which he thinks should be read Kadraitce (Geogr. of Arabia, i, 247). A very ancient Arab tradition states that Kedar settled in the Hejaz, the country round Mecca and Medina, and that his descendants have ever since ruled there (Abulfedae Hist. Anteislamica, ed. Fleischer, p. 192). From Kedar sprung, the distinguished tribe of Koreish, to which Mohammed belonged (Caussin, Essai,i, 175 sq.). Of the history of the head of the tribe little is known, but his posterity are described as being rich in flocks of sheep and goats, in which they traded with the Syrians ( Ezekiel 27:21; Jeremiah 49:49), as dwelling in tents of black hair ( Song of Solomon 1:5), though some of them occupied cities and villages ( ערים and חצרים ;  Isaiah 43:11) in the midst of the wilderness of Arabia, apparently in a mountainous and rocky district, and as being skilful in the use of the bow ( Isaiah 21:17); particulars which eminently agree with all descriptions of the manners and mode of life of the nomade Arabs bordering Palestine on the east, from the Red Sea to Asia Minor (Wellsted, Travels In Arabia, ii, 231 sq.; Wallin, in the Journ. Of R. Geog. Soc. vols. xx and xxiv). (See Arabia).

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

kē´dar ( קדר , ḳēdhār  ; Κηδάρ , Kēdâr ): 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 ,  Jeremiah 49:29 , where they are classed among the Benē - Ḳedhem , and mention is made of their flocks, camels, tents, curtains and furniture. They are spoken of ( Isaiah 42:11 ) as dwelling in ḥăcērı̄m ("villages"), from which it would appear that they were a somewhat settled tribe, corresponding to the Arabic ḥaḍarı̄ya or "town-dwellers," as distinct from wabarı̄ya or "nomads." Ezekiel ( 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 ,  Isaiah 21:17 (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 ḳādhar ("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 Palestine. 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.

Kitto's Popular Cyclopedia of Biblial Literature

K´edar (black), a son of Ishmael, and the name of the tribe of which he was the founder. The name is sometimes used in Scripture as that of the Bedouins generally, probably because this tribe was the nearest to them, and was best acquainted with them (;; ). A great deal of speculation founded upon the meaning of the word, namely, 'black,' may be dismissed as wholly useless. The Kedarenes were so called from Kedar, and not because they lived in 'black' tents, or because they were 'blackened' by the hot sun of Southern Arabia; neither of which circumstances could, even if true, have been foreseen at the time that Kedar received his name.