Isaiah 21:16 - Exposition

Within a year, according to the years of an hireling (see the comment on Isaiah 16:14 ). All the glory of Kedar shall fail . "Kedar" is a name of greater note than either Dedan or Tome. It seems to be used here as inclusive of Dedan, perhaps as a designation of the northern Arabians generally. The people of Kedar, like those of Dedan, carried on trade with Tyro ( Ezekiel 27:21 ). They dwelt partly in tents ( Psalms 120:5 ; Jeremiah 49:29 ), partly in villages ( Isaiah 42:11 ), and were rich in flocks and herds and in camels. Though not mentioned in the inscriptions of Sargon, Sennacherib, or Esarhaddon, the contemporaries of Isaiah, they hold a prominent place in those of Esarhaddon's son and successor, Asshurbanipal, with whom they carried on a war of some considerable duration in conjunction with the Nabathaeans.