Bible Strands
Jeremiah 49:28
Concerning Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon defeated, this is what the LORD says: “Rise up, advance against Kedar, and destroy the people of the east!
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The LORD speaks through the prophet Jeremiah to announce judgment against Kedar and the kingdoms of Hazor. The oracle functions as a military commission directed at these eastern nomadic confederations.
The words — לְקֵדָר (leqēḏār) translates literally as "concerning Kedar," and הִכָּה (hikkāh) means "he struck" or "he defeated." These terms ground the prophecy in a specific historical campaign and its divine mandate.
The thread — The oracle links to Genesis 25:13, which identifies Kedar as Ishmael’s second son, and aligns with the biblical pattern of eastern groups appearing in Judges 6:3 and Isaiah 11:14. These passages collectively track Kedar and the "sons of the east" as recurring geopolitical actors in Israel’s history.
Why it lands — The text issues a direct command to advance and destroy a named people, presenting historical conquest as the execution of divine decree. Readers face a declaration of sovereign control over nations that requires acknowledgment of God’s authority in worldly events.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Concerning Kedar, and concerning the kingdoms of Hazor, which Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon shall smite, thus saith the Lord; Arise ye, go up to Kedar, and spoil the men of the east.
Cross-references
- Genesis 25:13 These are the names of the sons of Ishmael in the order of their birth: Nebaioth the firstborn of Ishmael, then Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam,
- Judges 6:3 Whenever the Israelites planted their crops, the Midianites, Amalekites, and other people of the east would come up and invade them,
- Isaiah 11:14 They will swoop down on the slopes of the Philistines to the west; together they will plunder the sons of the east. They will lay their hands on Edom and Moab, and the Ammonites will be subject to them.
- Isaiah 21:16 For this is what the Lord says to me: “Within one year, as a hired worker would count it, all the glory of Kedar will be gone.
- Jeremiah 2:10 Cross over to the coasts of Cyprus and take a look; send to Kedar and consider carefully; see if there has ever been anything like this:
- Jeremiah 49:14 I have heard a message from the LORD; an envoy has been sent to the nations: “Assemble yourselves to march against her! Rise up for battle!”
- Ezekiel 27:21 Arabia and all the princes of Kedar were your customers, trading in lambs, rams, and goats.
- Genesis 25:6 But while he was still alive, Abraham gave gifts to the sons of his concubines and sent them away from his son Isaac to the land of the east.
- 1 Chronicles 1:29 These are their genealogies: Nebaioth the firstborn of Ishmael, then Kedar, Adbeel, Mibsam,
- Job 1:3 and he owned 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 yoke of oxen, 500 female donkeys, and a very large number of servants. Job was the greatest man of all the people of the East.