Who
Ishmael’s second son (Genesis 25:13), father of an Arab people of the desert east of Israel, herdsmen living in black tents. The bride of the Song says, “I am dark, but lovely, you daughters of Jerusalem, like Kedar’s tents, like Solomon’s curtains” (Song of Songs 1:5), and the exile in Psalm 120 laments dwelling “among the tents of Kedar”. Isaiah sees the nations come to Zion’s light: “All the flocks of Kedar will be gathered together to you” (Isaiah 60:7). The Fathers read the dark but lovely bride as the Church gathered from the Gentiles.
Key verses
- 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,
- Song of Songs 1:5
I am dark, but lovely, you daughters of Jerusalem, like Kedar’s tents, like Solomon’s curtains.
- Isaiah 60:7
All the flocks of Kedar will be gathered together to you. The rams of Nebaioth will serve you. They will be accepted as offerings on my altar; and I will beautify my glorious house.
Where the Bible names him
Family
- Parents
Discussed by
Comments on the verses that name him.
- Ephrem the Syrian, The Pearl. Seven Hymns on the Faith Hymn 3
1. Thou dost not hide thyself in thy bareness, O pearl! With the love of thee is the merchant ravished also, for he strips off his garments; not to cover thee, [seeing] thy clothing is thy light, thy garment is thy…
- Ambrose of Milan, On the Holy Spirit II.10
Being about to prove that the will, the calling, and the commandment of the Trinity is one, St. Ambrose shows that the Spirit called the Church exactly as the Father and the Son did, and proves this by the selection…
- Jerome, Letters Letter 22
To Eustochium. Perhaps the most famous of all the letters. In it Jerome lays down at great length (1) the motives which ought to actuate those who devote themselves to a life of virginity, and (2) the rules by which…
- Augustine of Hippo, Expositions on the Psalms Psalm 41
To the people, on the Feast of the Martyrs. 1. The solemn day of the Martyrs hath dawned; therefore to the glory of the Passion of Christ, the Captain of Martyrs, who spared not Himself, ordering His soldiers to the…
- Augustine of Hippo, Expositions on the Psalms Psalm 120
1. The Psalm which we have just heard chanted, and have responded to with our voices, is short, and very profitable. Ye will not long toil in hearing, nor will ye toil fruitlessly in working. For it is, according to…