Kedar (son of Ishmael)

Biblical Record

Kedar the individual is named directly in only two verses, both of which record the genealogy of Ishmael. Genesis 25:13 and 1 Chronicles 1:29 list the twelve sons of Ishmael, naming Kedar after the firstborn, Nebajoth. Genesis 25:16 records that these twelve sons, each with his own towns and encampments, became "twelve princes according to their nations." Scripture says nothing about Kedar's life or deeds. The story of his father, Ishmael, and his grandmother, Hagar, is treated in the article Hagar and Ishmael, and his grandfather is treated in the article Abraham.

Significance in Scripture

Elsewhere in Scripture, "Kedar" refers not to the individual but to the tribe regarded as his descendants or to the region that tribe inhabited.

• Nomadic tents: In Psalm 120:5 the psalmist describes his plight of living in a strange and hostile place as dwelling "in the tents of Kedar." In Song of Solomon 1:5, "the tents of Kedar" serve as an image of blackness.
• Prophecies of judgment: In an oracle concerning Arabia, Isaiah 21:16–17 declares that the glory of Kedar will fail and that the number of its archers and mighty men will be diminished. Jeremiah 49:28–33 prophesies that Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, will strike Kedar.
• Distant lands and trade: Jeremiah 2:10 pairs Chittim in the west with Kedar in the east to denote faraway places. Ezekiel 27:21 records that the princes of Kedar traded with Tyre in lambs, rams, and goats.
• Visions of restoration and praise: Isaiah 42:11 calls on "the villages that Kedar doth inhabit" to lift up their voice in praise, and Isaiah 60:7 depicts the flocks of Kedar being offered on God's altar.

The name Kedar does not appear in the New Testament.

Interpretations and Debates

• Ancestor and tribe: Scripture presents Kedar as the ancestor of a tribe but does not explain in detail how the individual Kedar is connected to the later tribe. Ancient Assyrian records are also known to mention a North Arabian tribal group called the Qedar.
• Interpretation of Isaiah 60: Christian tradition has read this passage as a scene of Gentile nations coming to God. Some interpreters connect it to the church and the mission to the Gentiles, while others regard it as a prophecy concerning restored Israel.
• Traditions outside the biblical text: Some Islamic traditions trace Muhammad's lineage to Kedar (Arabic "Qaydar"). This claim is not made by the biblical text.

In the Korean Church

Kedar is rarely treated as a figure in his own right in sermons or Sunday school. He is usually introduced as background to expressions such as "the tents of Kedar" and "the flocks of Kedar" when expounding passages such as Psalm 120, Song of Solomon 1:5, and Isaiah 60. Both the New Korean Revised Version and the Korean Revised Version render the name as "Gedal."