(dee' dan) Personal and place name of unknown meaning. 1. The original ancestor of an Arabian tribe listed in the table of nations as a son of Cush (Genesis 10:27 ). See Genesis 25:3 ). Here as in Genesis 10:27 , Dedan's brother is Sheba. Three otherwise unknown Arabian tribes descended from Dedan, according to Genesis 25:3 . 3 . The Arabian tribe centered at al-Alula, 70 miles southwest of Tema and 400 miles from Jerusalem. It was a station on the caravan road between Tema and Medina. Jeremiah pronounced judgment against the Arabian tribes (Jeremiah 25:23 ), perhaps looking to Nebuchadnezzar's raid in Arabia in 599-598 B.C. Nabonidus, king of Babylon (556-539), left control of his kingdom to his son Belshazzar and worked in Arabia for a period, controlling Dedan among other cities. Dedan was a caravan center for incense trade (Isaiah 21:13 ). Isaiah warned the traders from Dedan to avoid the regular caravan stations and spend the night in the wilderness. Neighbors from Tema would have to meet their food needs. Jeremiah warned merchants from Dedan working or staying in Edom to flee the country because God was bringing judgment on it (Jeremiah 49:8 ). Ezekiel warned Edom that their soldiers fleeing even to Dedan would be struck down (Ezekiel 25:13 ). In judging Tyre, Ezekiel noted they, too, traded with Dedan (Ezekiel 27:15 ,Ezekiel 27:15,27:20 ). Compare Ezekiel 38:13 .

Low ground.
A son of Raamah (Genesis 10:7 ). His descendants are mentioned in Isaiah 21:13 , and Ezekiel 27:15 . They probably settled among the sons of Cush, on the north-west coast of the Persian Gulf.



A son of Jokshan, Abraham's son by Keturah (1 Chronicles 1:32 ). His descendants settled on the Syrian borders about the territory of Edom. They probably led a pastoral life.

Son of Raamah, son of Cush (Genesis 10:7), brother of Sheba. A second Dedan is son of Jokshan, son of Keturah (Genesis 25:3), and is brother of a second Sheba. The recurrence of the same names points to an intermarriage between the Cushite (Ethiopian, rather Hamitic) Dedan and the Semitic Dedan, which is referred to as Edomite (Jeremiah 49:8; Jeremiah 25:23; Ezekiel 25:13; Isaiah 21:13, "ye traveling companies (merchant caravans) of Dedanim".)

The Cushite Dedan near the head of the Persian gulf and Chaldaea, the avenue of commerce to India, is referred to in Ezekiel 27:15, as the names in the context prove; but Ezekiel 27:20 Dedan is connected with N.W. Arabia, and associated with Assyria (Ezekiel 27:23), i.e. the Semitic or Edomite Dedan, yet also connected with the Cushite "Sheba and Raamah" (Ezekiel 27:22) on the Persian gulf. The Semitic Sabeans, descended from Sheba tenth son of Joktan, dwelt in S.W. Arabia, from the Red Sea to the straits of Bab el Mandeb. Ezekiel thus recounts the two channels of merchandise, Raamah on the Persian gulf, and Sheba on the Red Sea in Arabia. The name Dedan still remains in Dadan, an island on the border of the Persian gulf. (See RAAMAH)

DEDAN . A north Arabian people, according to Genesis 10:7 descended from Cush, and according to Genesis 25:3 from Abraham through Keturah. The combination is not difficult to understand when we remember the Arabian affiliations of the Cushites (cf. Isaiah 21:13 ). In Ezekiel 25:13 Dedan is placed almost within the Edomite territory, which it must have bordered on the southeast (cf. Jeremiah 25:23 ; Jeremiah 49:8 ). The Dedanites were among the Arabian peoples who sent their native wares to the markets of Tyre ( Ezekiel 27:20 ). In Ezekiel 27:15 read ‘Rodan’ (Rhodians) for ‘Dedan.’

J. F. McCurdy.

Their breasts; friendship; a judge

1. Son of Raamah, son of Cush. His descendants are supposed to have located themselves on the Persian Gulf. Genesis 10:7 ; 1 Chronicles 1:9 .

2. Descendant of Abraham and Keturah, probably inhabiting the borders of Idumaea. Genesis 25:3 ; 1 Chronicles 1:32 .

3. District mentioned in Jeremiah 25:23 ; Jeremiah 49:8 ; Ezekiel 25:13 . It is more than once in these prophecies associated with Edom, so that it was probably connected with the descendants of Abraham.

4. In Ezekiel 27:15,20 ; Ezekiel 38:13 apparently another place of the same name is referred to, which probably alludes to the district where the descendants of Cush settled.

Dedan (dç'dan). 1. A grandson of Cush, Genesis 10:7, and the name of a people, with a region of like name. 1 Chronicles 1:9. Dedan is thought to be the same as Daden, an island of the Persian Gulf; the inhabitants were noted merchants. Ezekiel 27:15; Ezekiel 38:13. 2. A people of northern Arabia, descended from Dedan, a descendant of Abraham and Keturah. Genesis 25:8; 1 Chronicles 1:32; Jeremiah 49:8; Jeremiah 49:25; Jeremiah 49:23; Ezekiel 25:13. The descendants of this Dedan lived near Idumæa. Jeremiah 49:8. It is not certain, but probable that the Cushite tribe engaged more extensively in trade. The "travelling companies" of Dedanim, A. V. plural of Dedan, R. V. "Dedanites," are noticed in Isaiah 21:13. They are also named with the merchants of Tarshish by Ezekiel 38:13, and were celebrated from their trade with the Phœnicians.

1. The grandson of Cush, Genesis 10:7 ; and

2. The son of Jokshan, Abraham's son by Keturah, Genesis 25:3 . Both were founders of tribes frequently named in Scripture. The descendants of the Cushite Dedan are supposed to have settled in southern Arabia, near the Persian gulf, in which there is an island called by the Arabs Dedan lived in the neighborhood of Idumaea, Jeremiah 49:8 . It is not clear, in all cases where the name occurs, which of the tribes is intended. It was probably the Cushite tribe, which was employed in trade. The "travelling companies" of Dedan are mentioned by Isaiah 21:13 . They are also named with the merchants of Tarshish by Ezekiel 38:13 , and were celebrated on account of their trade with the Phoenicians.