Dedan
“Low or their proceeding”
Summary
An Arabian people and region descended from both Cush and Abraham through Keturah, prominent in ancient trade and prophecy.
☩Dual Ancestry
Scripture records two men named Dedan: a son of Raamah descended from Cush, and a son of Jokshan descended from Abraham and Keturah. Both share a brother named Sheba, suggesting the two lineages intermarried, forming a mixed tribe that combined Hamitic and Semitic descent. This merger would explain references to Dedan in both Arabian and Edomite contexts throughout Scripture.
☩Commercial Prominence
The Dedanites were renowned merchants traversing caravan routes from the Persian Gulf to Palestine. Ezekiel's lamentation for Tyre mentions Dedan twice—first as traders bringing ivory and ebony from distant lands, then as merchants dealing in 'precious clothes for chariots.' Isaiah refers to the 'traveling companies of Dedanim' lodging in Arabian forests. Their commercial activity linked the wealth of India and Arabia with Mediterranean markets.
☩Prophetic Warnings
Both Jeremiah and Ezekiel pronounce judgment against Dedan in connection with Edom. The inhabitants of Dedan are warned to flee and hide in deep places as destruction approaches. This association with Edom suggests the Keturahite branch of Dedan had settled along Edom's borders, adopting a pastoral lifestyle while their Cushite kindred maintained mercantile traditions on the Persian Gulf.
Related Verses10 mentions
References
- 1.James Orr (ed.), "Dedan; Dedanites," in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, vol. II (Howard-Severance Company, 1915).
- 2.John McClintock and James Strong, "Dedan," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. II (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 3.Andrew Robert Fausset, "Dedan," in The Englishman's Critical and Expository Bible Cyclopædia (Hodder & Stoughton, 1878).