Easton's Bible Dictionary Dark-skinned, the second son of Ishmael (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; Ezek. 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 (Psalm 120:5). The Kedarites suffered at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar (Jeremiah 49:28, 29). Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia KEDAR 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 Isaiah 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 Songs 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 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. A. S. Fulton

Multi-Version Concordance Kedar (11 Occurrences) Genesis 25:13 These are the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names, according to the order of their birth: the firstborn of Ishmael, Nebaioth, then Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, (WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV) 1 Chronicles 1:29 These are their generations: the firstborn of Ishmael, Nebaioth; then Kedar, and Adbeel, and Mibsam, (WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV) Psalms 120:5 Woe is me, that I live in Meshech, that I dwell among the tents of Kedar! (WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV) Song of Songs 1:5 I am dark, but lovely, you daughters of Jerusalem, like Kedar's tents, like Solomon's curtains. (WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV) Isaiah 21:16 For the Lord said to me, "Within a year, as a worker bound by contract would count it, all the glory of Kedar will fail, (WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV) Isaiah 21:17 and the residue of the number of the archers, the mighty men of the children of Kedar, will be few; for Yahweh, the God of Israel, has spoken it." (WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV) Isaiah 42:11 Let the wilderness and its cities raise their voices, with the villages that Kedar inhabits. Let the inhabitants of Sela sing. Let them shout from the top of the mountains! (WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV) Isaiah 60:7 All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together to you, the rams of Nebaioth shall minister to you; they shall come up with acceptance on my altar; and I will glorify the house of my glory. (WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV) Jeremiah 2:10 For pass over to the islands of Kittim, and see; and send to Kedar, and consider diligently; and see if there has been such a thing. (WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV) Jeremiah 49:28 Of Kedar, and of the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon struck. Thus says Yahweh: Arise, go up to Kedar, and destroy the children of the east. (WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV) Ezekiel 27:21 Arabia, and all the princes of Kedar, they were the merchants of your hand; in lambs, and rams, and goats, in these were they your merchants. (WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS YLT NAS RSV NIV)