Who and what is…
Kedar

Meaning: dark-skinned

1. Kedar, an Ishmaelite

   He is the 2nd son of the patriarch Ishmael who is the 1st son of Abraham (Genesis 25:13).

   Relatives

   • Grandfather: Abraham
   • Grandmother: Hagar
   • Father: Ishmael
   • Descendants: Prorbably the Kedar (below), Kedarites
   • Known Brothers: Nebaioth (Nebajoth) (firstborn), Adbeel, Jetur, Mibsam, Mishma, Dumah, Massa, Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, Kedemah
   • Known Uncles: Isaac and Midian

2. Kedar, the people

   also known as: Kedarites

   Kedar is the name for formerly nomadic tribes of Arabs, the Bedouins generally (Isa. 21:16; 42:11; 60:7; Jer. 2:10; Ezek. 27:21), who dwelled in the northwest of Arabia.

   They lived in black hair-tents (Song of Songs 1:5).

   To “dwell in the tents of Kedar” came to be a euphemism for being cut off from the worship of the true God (Psalm 120:5).

   The Kedarites suffered at the hands of King Nebuchadnezzar (Jer. 49:28-29).

More information

• Who is Ishmael?
• What is an Ishmaelite?
• Men of the Bible
• Arabs