“Arabia,
With all the princes
Of Kedar,
Were your favored dealers
In lambs,
Rams,
Goats.
They did business
With you
In these things.”
The princes of the Arabian Peninsula were the favorite trading partners of Tyre as regards livestock, especially lambs, rams, and goats. The princes of Kedar referred to those dark skinned Arabs who were descendants of Ishmael that lived in the northwestern section of the Arabian Peninsula.
“A multitude of camels
Shall cover you.
The young camels of Midian
With the camels of Ephah
Shall cover you.
All those from Sheba
Shall come.
They shall bring gold.
They shall bring frankincense.
They shall proclaim the praise of Yahweh.
All the flocks of Kedar
Shall be gathered to you.
The rams of Nebaioth
Shall minister to you.
They shall be acceptable on my altar.
I will glorify my glorious house.”
The caravan trade had been very lucrative. Thus the camels with all their goodies would travel to Jerusalem from eastern Midian and Ephah that were in Arabia. Sheba was in southern Arabia, prominent in the stories of King Solomon. They were bringing the traditional gifts of gold and frankincense, which was an expensive spice. They were going to proclaim the praises of Yahweh. So too, the flocks from the eastern desert area from the Arab tribes of Kedar, as well as the rams of the Nebaioth tribe, would be gifts for Jerusalem. These would be acceptable at the altar of Yahweh in his house.
“Woe to me!
I am an alien in Meshech!
I must live among the tents of Kedar!
Too long have I had my dwelling
Among those who hate peace.
I am for peace.
When I speak,
They are for war!”
This short psalm ends with the psalmist lamenting that he was in some far off place where everyone is warring against him. He was a stranger or alien in Meshech and Kedar, either some place in Asia Minor or northern Arabia. These two places are kind of synonyms for some barbarous place where all people wanted to do was to make war. This psalmist, on the other hand, only wanted peace not war.
“These are their genealogies. The first-born of Ishmael was Nebaioth, with Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam, Mishma, Dumah, Massa, Hadad, Tema, Jetur, Naphish, and Kedemah. These are the sons of Ishmael.”
This section is based on Genesis, chapter 25, with has exactly the same names. Ishmael had 12 sons who then became 12 princes, much like Jacob who will have 12 sons. Ishmael was the hard luck outcast, but important because he was technically the first born of Abraham. Among his 12 sons, (1) Nebaioth will be the father of the people who settle in Edom. The descendents of (2) Kedar settled in the Arabian Desert. (3) Adbeel settled somewhere southwest of the Dead Sea. There are two other people named (4) Mibsam and (5) Mishma in the bible. There are a number of places named after (6) Dumah, the most famous on the Syrian border. The (7) Massa descendents settled somewhere near the Babylonian border. (8) Hadad frequently turns up as a name of some princes in Edom. A town in Syria is named after (9) Tema. (10) Jetur, (11) Naphish, and (12) Kedemah seem to be associated with the Hagrites. They mostly settled in the Arabian Desert. Thus you have the 12 tribes or sons of Ishmael just like there will be 12 tribes or sons of Jacob.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 