Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897)
Dark-skinned, the second son of Ishmael (Gen. 25:13). It is the name for the nomadic tribes of Arabs, the Bedouins generally (Isa. 21:16; 42:11; 60:7; Jer. 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 (Ps. 120:5). The Kedarites suffered at the hands of Nebuchadnezzar (Jer. 49:28, 29).
Smith's Bible Dictionary (1863)
(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 21:13-17) 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. ” (Isaiah 21:17) comp. Psal 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.
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible (1898) & Schaff's Bible Dictionary
KE'DAR (dark-skinned), second son of Ishmael. Gen 25:13. From him descended the leading tribes of Arabia and of the land east of Palestine. They and the country bear the name of Kedar. Isa 21:16; Jer 49:28. They were nomads, living in black hair-tents. Cant. Jer 1:5, as the modern Bedouins do, or in villages, Isa 42:11, and were rich in flocks and herds, and noted as archers and mighty men. Ptolemy calls them Darrse, and Pliny, Cedrie. The rabbins call the Arabs, Kedar. Tradition makes Mohammed a descendant of Kedar. They suffered much from the invasion of Nebuchadnezzar.
Hitchcock's Bible Names (1869)
blackness; sorrow