KEDAR 07, black ;' Knacip; Cedar), the second son of Ishmael and founder of one of the most distinguished tribes of Arabia (Gen. xxv. 13 16). The word Kedar si{,rnifies black,' and the tents of the tribe, like all those of the BedaWin of the present day, were black (Cant. i. 5) ; hence some have supposed that the name was given to the tribe because of the colour of their tents. Others think that the name originated in the dark ness of their complexion (Bochart, Opera, i. 216). This is all mere conjecture. The name was first borne by the son of Ishmael ; but whether it originated, like that of Esau, in any peculiarity in the child, or in any event in his after life, we cannot tell. The tents of all the nomad tribes of Arabia are black, and the colour of their skin is uniformly of a light bronze hue, so that the name Kedar was in these respects no more applicable to one tribe than another.
The children of Kedar' is. xxi. 17) were well known to the Israelites, and are more frequently spoken of in Scripture than any of the other Arab tribes. Several particulars are men tioned calculated to illustrate their mode of life, and to indicate their place of abode. They dwelt chiefly in tents (Ps. cxx. 5), though some of them occupied cities and villages ("IV and IVIY11; Is. xlii. i) in the midst of the wilderness of Arabia, apparently in a mountainous and rocky district. They were rich in flocks : All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together unto thee' (Is. lx. 7) ; in camels and cattle : Their camels shall be a booty and the multitude of their cattle a spoil' (Jer. xlix. 32) ; and with these they supplied the marts of Tyre (haring the period of its glory and power (Ezek. xxvii. 21). The children of Kedar were also celebrated as warriors. Isaiah, when foretelling their fall, says, All the glory of Kedar shall fail, and the residue of the number of archers, the mighty men of the children of Kedar' (xxi. 16, 17).
Guided by these notices, we infer that the tribe of Kedar had its nucleus in the hill country, north of Medina, where there are still villages and fortresses, and that their pasture-grounds extended to the eastern borders of Syria on the one side, and on the other to the shore of the Red Sea, soine of the islands in which they appear to have occupied (Is. xlii. 1, 12; Forster's Geography of Arabia, i. 242, sq.) Pliny speaks of an Arab tribe called Cedrei, as dwelling in this region, and adjoining the Nabatheaus (If. N. v. 12); there can be no doubt of their identity with the children of Kedar.
Ptolemy calls them Darrae (Geog-. vi. 7), evidently a corruption of the ancient IIebrew ; and Forster supposes that it is the same people Arrian refers to as the Kanraitae, which he thinks should be read Kadraitae (Geog. of Arabia, i. 247). A very
ancient Arab tradition states that Kedar settled in the Hedjaz, the country round Mecca and Medina, and that his descendants have ever since ruled there (AMnIfedae Hist. Anteirlamica, ed. Fleischer, p. [92). From Kedar sprung the distinguished tribe of Koreish, to which Mohammed belonged.
The Ishmaelites are tvell known to be an un changing people. Their customs and national characteristics they have retained unchanged from the earliest ages. Every tribe also clings with a wonderful tenacity to the homes, fountains, and pasture lands of their ancestors. There can be little doubt, therefore, that the tradition is true that the Hedjaz is still peopled by Kedarite tribes, though the name has disappeared. The Kedarites were distinguished among all the Ishmaelites for the fierceness of their character, and their skin in arms. • Woe is me,' writes the Psalmist, that I dwell in the tents of Kedar. My soul hath long dwelt with him Mat hateth peace. I am for peace; but, when I speak, they are for war' (cxx. 5). Isaiah, too, celebrates the glory of Kedar, namely, its archers,' and its ?nig/ay men' (xxi. 17). It is a remarkable fact, that at the present time the inhabitants of the Hedjaz are composed of the powerful and warlike tribe called Beni 'barb, children of war ;' some of whom live in villages and towns, but most of them in tents. Bitrck hardt says they can muster about 40,000 match locks, and, next to the Anezes, they constitute the most formidable association of Bedawin in Arabia' (ATotes on the Bedozein and Wahahys, p. 234). They are still rich in flocks and herds ; and they dwell in safety among their native hills, just as their forefathers did in the time of Jeremiah, who says of them, Get you up unto the wealthy nation that clwelleth without care, which have neither gates nor bars, which dwell alone. And their camels shall be a booty, and the multitude of their cattle a spoil' (xlix. 31, 32). Thus we find the descendants of Kedar, the son of Ishmael, re taining through nearly four thousand years the very possessions originally occupied by their founder ; and retaining also their national characteristics, habits, and even property. This is just another proof of the literal fulfilment of the prophetic pro mise regarding Ishmael—' He will be a wild man ; his hand against every man, and every man's hand against him ; and he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren' (Gen. xvi. 12). In addition to the valuable works of Forster and Burckhardt already referred to, the student may consult Re land, Palast., p. 96, sey ; Wellsted, Travels in Anthia, 231, seq ; Wallin's Journey through Arabia, in 9ournal of R. Geas. Soc., vols. xx. and xxiv. ; Bochart, Opera, pp. 42, 214.— j. L. P.