TIDAL tī’ dəl (תִדְעָ֖ל), mentioned only in Genesis 14: as “king of Goiim,” usually rendered “king of nations.” This would imply either the ruler of a confederacy of nations, or it might be an honorific title corresponding to the expression common in Akkad. annals, “King of the Four Corners of the Earth.” Some identify Goiim with Gutium in Mesopotamia. Mari texts use the word ga’um for a group, or a gang. This might suggest that Tidal ruled a nomadic tribe with no fixed boundaries.

The name Tidal corresponds with Tudhalias I, a Hitt. ruler who prob. was successor to Anittas. The identification is uncertain, but the name could not have been improvised by a Heb. writer.

Tidal was a confederate of Chedorlaomer in an attack on the Trans-jordan area during which Lot, Abraham’s nephew, was captured (Gen 14:1, 9).