Jeremiah 49:28

Kedar. These people were descendants of Ishmael (see Gen. 25:13) and thus, like the Moabites, Ammonites, and Edomites mentioned in Jer. 48; 49, were related to Israel. They were apparently noted as archers (Isa. 21:16, 17). It is clear from Jer. 49:29 that they led a nomadic, pastoral existence. According to 27:21, their homeland was Arabia.

This is also clear from the reference to them here as “the men of the east,” Heb. bene-qedem, “sons of the east,” also translated, “children of the east,” a frequent term for the dwellers in the Arabian Desert (see on Judges 6:3; 1 Kings 4:30; cf. Judges 7:12; 8:10; Job 1:3; Eze. 25:4, 10).

Hazor. The OT mentions several places by this name (Joshua 11:1; 15:23, 25; Neh. 11:33). All of these, however, appear to have been west of the Jordan, whereas the Hazor mentioned here is clearly east of Palestine. It has been suggested that the name Hazor, Heb. chasor, may be derived from the Heb. chaser, “an unwalled town,” “a village.” The word “villages” in the phrase “the villages that Kedar doth inhabit” (Isa. 42:11) is from chaser. Thus there may be a general reference here to those Arabs living in villages as contrasted with their nomadic neighbors who are indicated by the name Kedar.