Dedan in the Bible


was an oasis and city-state of north-western Arabia. It is mentioned several times in the Hebrew Bible. The word Dedan means "low ground". The people of Dedan are called Dedanim or Dedanites.

Men named Dedan

In the Hebrew Bible, the name Dedan is assigned to two different men:
The name Dedan comes possibly from the Hebrew noun, meaning breast or nipple, or the Hebrew verb, meaning move slowly, lead slowly. It may be connected with the root for beloved.

History

Dedan is mentioned in the Book of Ezekiel,. Chapter 27 is a roster of the trading partners of the city of Tyre, where Dedan is noted as a nation or kingdom which traded in saddle blankets.
The oasis kingdom is also mentioned in the prophetic vision of the war of Gog and Magog, and appears to be a nation of significance in this end-times prophecy of Ezekiel.
Isaiah 21:13 and Ezekiel 27:15 identify the Dedanim or Dedanites as a trading people.
In Ezekiel 38:13, Dedan is joined with Sheba and "Tarshish and all her strong lions": all these nations joining together to inquire of the advancing armies of Gog: "Have you come to plunder? Have you gathered your hordes to loot, to carry off silver and gold, to take away livestock and goods and to seize much plunder?"
Now known as Al Ula in northern Saudi Arabia, known to the ancient Greeks and Romans as Hijra, Hegra or Egra, the former is about the same distance, about 250 miles north from Medina as Medina is north of Mecca. The location where the extinct tribe of Thamud used to dwell.
In the ruins of the old city there are inscriptions that indicate the Dedanites were preceded by a Minean settlement. The Mineans established a center at this desert oasis in order to protect the incense trade.