A native Californian, Dr. Arbino has been at Golden Gate since 1986 and began his full-time teaching duties in 1996. For Dr. Arbino, the integration of text and context is essential for the interpretation of God's Word. Because of this, he seeks to bring the Old Testament to life for students, challenging them to read fully and carefully the words of Scripture to see their beauty, detail, and nuance as an inspired product of their ancient world. In this way, Dr. Arbino feels that "we will be conformed to the text rather than insisting that the text conform to us."
Since 1990, Dr. Arbino has been active in archaeological excavations. He has served on staff at several digs in the Middle East: Tel Miqne-Ekron, Tall al-Umeryi, Beth Shemesh, and Tel Rehov. He currently serves as the Senior Field Archaeologist for the Tel Gezer Excavations, a position he has held since 2006.
As longtime Curator of the Seminary's archaeological museum, Dr. Arbino brings the results of archaeological fieldwork and analysis to students and local community members. Over the past two decades he has created over 15 different installations in the small museum and is currently expanding the space into its new second room.
Through his writings and presentations, Dr. Arbino hopes to engage both the scholarly and church communities in discussions about the meaning of the Bible as seen through a grounding in its historical and cultural contexts. He is active in professional organizations including the Society of Biblical Literature, National Association of Professors of Hebrew, and American Schools of Oriental Research, for which he has served as a Trustee since 2004.
Dr. Arbino is active in church, where he teaches a weekly adult Bible study class and serves as Church Moderator. He lives with his wife, Maggie, and their dog, Sophie, in Petaluma. |