Smith's Bible Dictionary

Kedar (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 21:17) 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) comp. Psalm 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.