The title is interesting. Not sure if Deedat meant it to be a revelation to us that Arabia and Kedar are mentioned in the Bible but it shouldn’t be much of a revelation as Arabia and Kedar (Kedar is the second born of Ishmael) are mentioned a number of times in the Bible. Even in the New Testament we find Paul visiting Arabia which is mentioned in Galatians 1:17. That said, the significant detail about Arabia and Kedar is the insignificance of them when compared to other places mentioned in the Bible. The Bible mentions all the countries that border it but these two places do not compare to the significance of Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia and many others.

The Arabia of those days is not the area that we picture it being today but would be much further north, stretching up to what is now Syria and would also include what is now Jordan. Most of Jordan was known as the Arabia of the Nabateans and the Nabateans are believed to be descended from Nebaioth who was Ishmael’s first born (Kedar being the second born).

 

(a) When we look into the verses that Deedat quotes from the Bible we see that he is is playing fast and loose with the verses. Take Isaiah 21:13 for example. This verse including down to verse seventeen says;

A prophecy against Arabia:

You caravans of Dedanites,

who camp in the thickets of Arabia,

bring water for the thirsty;

you who live in Tema,

bring food for the fugitives.

They flee from the sword,

from the drawn sword,

from the bent bow

and from the heat of battle.

 

[Isaiah 21:16 – 17] This is what the Lord says to me: “Within one year, as a servant bound by contract would count it, all the splendour of Kedar will come to an end. The survivors of the archers, the warriors of Kedar, will be few.” The Lord, the God of Israel, has spoken.

 

We see in Isaiah 21 that the passage has nothing to do with God commanding the Arabians to take the message to the world but rather the prophesy is against them and we see in verses 16 and 17 that they are to come under judgement, which is probably for not helping the refuges fleeing from the drawn sword, the bent bow and the heat of the battle.

Incidentally the word translated as prophesy here can be translated as burden. The Hebrew word means to be under a burden to deliver a message.

 

(b), (c) The passages Deedat quotes from Isaiah 42 and Ezekiel 27 do mention Kedar (and Sela which is in Jordan) but neither adds any importance to the land that Muhammed is supposed to be from.

 

(d) Deuteronomy 33:2 says nothing like what Deedat is trying to make it say. Firstly verse one says “This is the blessing that Moses the man of God pronounced on the Israelites before his death.” So we see the “he” is actually Moses, then he goes onto say “The LORD came from Sinai and dawned over them from Seir; he shone forth from Mount Paran.” Notice the use of the word LORD which is the way we write God’s name, Yahweh. So it is saying it is Yahweh and not Muhammed that marches forward with his saints. To take a random verse like this and to try apply it to another historical event is not very wise or scientific. It is as illogical as applying it to Julius Caesar taking England or Hitler invading Poland?

 

(e) In Deuteronomy 32:21 we find no indication of who the nation is that will make Israel jealous. There is no hint in the whole passage. Fortunately Paul tells us in Romans 10 (which is ironic considering what Islam thinks of Paul) that the nation is the church that has grown all over the world. He does this by positioning this verse with a verse from Psalm 19 “Their voice has gone out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world.” It is the church that is to make Israel jealous when they see how God’s word has gone out to all the world.

So to sum up. When Deedat states Bible verses to support his case then read those verses for yourself because you will find that the facts are different to what Deedat would like you to believe.