In the Old Testament, Tidal (Hebrew: תִּדְעָל, Modern: Tīdʿal, Tiberian: Tīḏʿāl) is a king of Goyim. In the Book of Genesis (14:1), he is described as one of the four kings who fought Abraham in the Battle of Siddim.
| Tidal | |
|---|---|
| King of Goiim | |
| House | Goiim[1] |
Modern scholars have attempted to identify the original context of the story and potential historical correspondents. It has been speculated that the name Tidal is a Hebrew rendering of Tudhaliya, the name of several Hittite and Neo-Hittite kings.[2] The name continued as "Tudal" down to the Neo-Hittite period.[citation needed] Stephanie Dalley argues that Tidal should be identified as the military leader ‘Tudhaliya the chief cupbearer’ mentioned on a clay tablet from the pre-Hittite Assyrian colony at Kanesh.[3][4] Alternatively, Gard Granerød regards Tidal as literary figure rather than a historical one. According to him, the name Tidal could be originated from a foreign story that Jewish people learned from the foreign diaspora community, which included Elamites and many other foreigners, as mentioned in Ezra 4.[5][clarification needed]
The kingdom of Goyim has not been identified, though modern scholars have speculated that it may refer to Hittites, Hurrians and other groups in central Anatolia.[3] The Genesis Apocryphon (col. 21) places it in Mesopotamia. In Biblical Hebrew, the word is generally translated as "nations" or "peoples".
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Genesis 14 NIV - Abram Rescues Lot - At the time when". Bible Gateway. Retrieved 2015-07-28.
- ^ Adam Simon van der Woude; Adrianus van Selms (1968). Adhuc Loquitur. E. J. Brill. p. 36.
- ^ a b Dalley, Stephanie (2021). The City of Babylon: A History, c. 2000 BC – AD 116. Cambridge University Press. pp. 319–321. ISBN 9781107136274.
- ^ Cf. Barjamovic, Gojko; Hertel, Thomas; Larsen, Mogens Trolle (2012). Ups and Downs at Kanesh: Chronology, History and Society in the Old Assyrian Period. Netherlands Institute for the Near East. p. 39. ISBN 978-90-6258-331-7.
- ^ Gard Granerød (26 March 2010). Abraham and Melchizedek: Scribal Activity of Second Temple Times in Genesis 14 and Psalm 110. Walter de Gruyter. pp. 118-121. ISBN 978-3-11-022346-0.