K´edar (black), a son of Ishmael, and the name of the tribe of which he was the founder. The name is sometimes used in Scripture as that of the Bedouins generally, probably because this tribe was the nearest to them, and was best acquainted with them (;; ). A great deal of speculation founded upon the meaning of the word, namely, 'black,' may be dismissed as wholly useless. The Kedarenes were so called from Kedar, and not because they lived in 'black' tents, or because they were 'blackened' by the hot sun of Southern Arabia; neither of which circumstances could, even if true, have been foreseen at the time that Kedar received his name.