David N. Bivin

David N. Bivin
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David N. Bivin is founder and editor of Jerusalem Perspective. A native of Cleveland, Oklahoma, U.S.A., Bivin has lived in Israel since 1963, when he came to Jerusalem on a Rotary Foundation Fellowship to do postgraduate work at the Hebrew University. He studied at the Hebrew University until 1969 specializing in Jewish history and literature under professors Menahem Stern, David Flusser, Shmuel Safrai and Yechezkel Kutscher, and in archaeology under professors Yigael Yadin, Yohanan Aharoni and Michael Avi-Yonah. During those six years, and for many years afterwards, Bivin also studied the Synoptic Gospels with Jerusalem scholar-pastor Dr. Robert L. Lindsey.

Bivin has written and co-authored more than two hundred scholarly and popular articles. Recent academic articles include the entry “Hebraisms in the New Testament” in Encyclopedia of Hebrew Language and Linguistics (Leiden: E. J. Brill, 2013), 2:198-201, and the article “Jesus’ Petros-petra Wordplay (Matt 16:18): Is It Greek, Aramaic, or Hebrew?” in The Language Environment of First-century Judaea: Jerusalem Studies in the Synoptic Gospels 2 (JCP 26; ed. Randall Buth and R. Steven Notley; Leiden: E. J. Brill, 2014), 375-394. Bivin has presented scholarly papers at U.S. and international meetings of the Society of Biblical Literature. Together with Joshua N. Tilton and Lauren Asperschlager, Bivin is working on a projected 5,000-page commentary on the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, currently being published at JerusalemPerspective.com.

Bivin’s popular book, New Light on the Difficult Words of Jesus (Holland, MI: En-Gedi Resource Center), appeared in 2005.

Bivin is a member of the Jerusalem School of Synoptic Research, a think tank made up of Jewish and Christian scholars dedicated to better understanding the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke). In the early 1980s, before the School became a legal entity, he coined its name. For many years following the School’s registration in Israel as a nonprofit research institute in 1985, he served as its director and Executive Board chairman.

During the years 1970 to 1981 Bivin directed the Hebrew Language Division of the American Ulpan, and the Modern Hebrew Department of the Institute of Holy Land Studies (later renamed Jerusalem University College) on Mt. Zion. During those years, he authored the video language course, Aleph-Bet: A Beginner’s Introduction to Reading and Writing Hebrew, and co-authored, with the late Robert Goldfarb, Fluent Biblical and Modern Hebrew, a home-study language program.

For twelve years (1987-1999) Bivin published Jerusalem Perspective, a print magazine that presented the life and teachings of Jesus in their original cultural and linguistic settings. In 1999 the magazine evolved into a website, www.jerusalemperspective.com.

Active in Israeli life, Bivin served as a sergeant in an Israeli army reserve infantry unit from 1974 to 1991. He is a member of Jerusalem’s Narkis Street Congregation, where he served as an elder under the pastorate of the late Robert Lindsey. He and his wife Josa (née Keosababian) met and were married at the Narkis Street Congregation in 1969. The Bivins live on the moshav of Yad Hashmona near Jerusalem.

Photo Copyright Chris de Vries Studio, Zeeland, Michigan

Articles by David N. Bivin

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  • Transliteration Guide to The Life of Yeshua: A Suggested Reconstruction
  • LOY Excursus: The Genitive Absolute in the Synoptic Gospels
  • The “How Much More” Rabbinic Principle of Interpretation in the Teaching of Jesus
  • “The ‘Desert’ of Bethsaida”: Is Midbar Akin to Village Common?
  • “When you see the south [southeast, east] wind blow”
  • Abraham’s Temptation, Forerunner of Jesus’ Temptation
  • The Amidah Prayer
  • “And” or “In order to” Remarry
  • The Angel Who Has Delivered Me from All Harm
  • Another Look at Peter’s Great Confession
  • Another Look at the “Cleansing of the Temple” Story
  • At last, Hebraic heritage resources for children and teenagers!
  • At the Feet of a Sage
  • “Banquet in the Kingdom of Heaven” complex
  • Be Ready for the Son of Man
  • The Beatitudes
  • Being There
  • The BiblePlaces Newsletter
  • “Binding” and “Loosing” in the Kingdom of Heaven
  • Blessed Are those Who Hunger and Thirst for Righteousness
  • Blessed Be the “Name”!
  • Blessed Be the Faithful Judge!
  • Blessedness of the Twelve
  • A Body, Vultures and the Son of Man (Luke 17:37)
  • Calamities in Yerushalayim
  • Call No Man “Father”
  • Call of Levi
  • Carrion Birds
  • Cataloging the Gospels’ Hebraisms: Part Five (Parallelism)
  • Cataloging the Gospels’ Hebraisms: Part Four (Parallelism)
  • Cataloging the Gospels’ Hebraisms: Part One (Luke 10:23-24)
  • Cataloging the Gospels’ Hebraisms: Part Six (Parallelism)
  • Cataloging the Gospels’ Hebraisms: Part Three (Impersonal “They”)
  • Cataloging the Gospels’ Hebraisms: Part Two (Luke 9:51-56)
  • “Choose Repentance or Destruction” complex
  • Choosing the Twelve
  • Christ’s Folded Napkin (John 20:7): Is it significant that the napkin that had been around Jesus’ head when he was buried was found in the empty tomb folded?
  • Closed Door
  • Coming From All Directions
  • Yeshua’s Testing
  • Completion
  • “Cost of Entering the Kingdom of Heaven” complex
  • Could Bethsaida Be West of the Jordan?
  • Cumulative Life of Yeshua Greek Reconstructions
  • Cumulative Life of Yeshua Hebrew Reconstructions
  • Darnel Among the Wheat Parable
  • Days of the Son of Man
  • Demands of Discipleship
  • “Destruction and Redemption” complex
  • Did the Father Abandon his Son on the Cross?
  • Discovering Longer Gospel Stories
  • Discovering the Hebrew Undertext of the Synoptic Gospels
  • Disgusting Illustrations Distract from Worthy Content!
  • A Divine Messiah?
  • “Do Not Resist Evil”: Jesus’ View of Pacifism
  • Doers of the Word
  • Sidebar: “Ears of Corn”?
  • Eight Tributes to Robert L. Lindsey
  • Evidence of an Editor’s Hand in Two Instances of Mark’s Account of Jesus’ Last Week?
  • Faith Like a Mustard Seed
  • Faithful or Faithless Slave
  • The Fallacy of Sacred Name Bibles
  • A Farewell to the Emmaus Road
  • Fathers Give Good Gifts Simile
  • Fig Tree Parable
  • First and Last
  • First-century Discipleship
  • Fishers and Hunters: A Fishy Reading of Jeremiah 16:16
  • Four Soils Interpretation
  • Four Soils Parable
  • “Four Types of Hearers” complex
  • Friend In Need Simile
  • Garden Past Gethsemane by Brian and Toni Becker
  • Generations That Repented Long Ago
  • Gennesaret According to Josephus
  • Gospel Expressions That Aren’t English
  • Gospel Translation
  • A Gripping New Novel about Jews and Christians in First-century Israel
  • Hananiah Notos: The Never-ending Importance of the Dead Sea Scrolls
  • Has a Gospel in Hebrew Been Found?
  • Has a Hebrew Gospel Been Found?
  • Haste Is of the Devil
  • Shimon’s Mother-in-law
  • Heaven and Earth Pass Away
  • Hebraisms in the New Testament
  • Hebrew as a Spoken Language in First-century Israel
  • Hebrew Idioms in the Gospels
  • Hebrew Nuggets, Lesson 1: Jesus’ Hebrew Name (Part 1)
  • Hebrew Nuggets, Lesson 2: Jesus’ Hebrew Name (Part 2)
  • Hebrew Nuggets, Lesson 3: Jesus’ Hebrew Name (Part 3)
  • Hebrew Nuggets, Lesson 4: Jesus’ Hebrew Name (Part 4)
  • Hebrew Nuggets, Lesson 5: Abba (Part 1)
  • Hebrew Nuggets, Lesson 6: Abba (Part 2)
  • Hebrew Nuggets, Lesson 7: Abba (Part 3)
  • Hebrew Nuggets, Lesson 8: Abba (Part 4)
  • Hebrew Nuggets, Lesson 9: Hallelujah (Part 1)
  • Hebrew Nuggets, Lesson 10: Hallelujah (Part 2)
  • Hebrew Nuggets, Lesson 11: Hallelujah (Part 3)
  • Hebrew Nuggets, Lesson 12: menorah (Part 1)
  • Hebrew Nuggets, Lesson 13: menorah (Part 2)
  • Hebrew Nuggets, Lesson 14: menorah (Part 3)
  • Hebrew Nuggets, Lesson 15: Shalom (Part 1)
  • Hebrew Nuggets, Lesson 16: Shalom (Part 2)
  • Hebrew Nuggets, Lesson 17: vav (Part 1)
  • Hebrew Nuggets, Lesson 18: vav (Part 2)
  • Hebrew Nuggets, Lesson 19: Israel (Part 1)
  • Hebrew Nuggets, Lesson 20: Israel (Part 2)
  • Hebrew Nuggets, Lesson 21: Israel (Part 3)
  • Hebrew Nuggets, Lesson 22: Israel (Part 4)
  • Hebrew Nuggets, Lesson 23: Messiah (Part 1)
  • Hebrew Nuggets, Lesson 24: Messiah (Part 2)
  • Hebrew Nuggets, Lesson 25: ta·NAK (Part 1)
  • Hebrew Nuggets, Lesson 26: ta·NAK (Part 2)
  • Hebrew Nuggets, Lesson 27: ta·NAK (Part 3)
  • Hebrew Nuggets, Lesson 28: Reading with Grace
  • Hebrew Nuggets, Lesson 29: Grace Compared
  • Hebrew Nuggets, Lesson 30: Lord
  • Hebrew Nuggets, Lesson 31: Righteousness
  • Hebrew Nuggets, Lesson 32: Justice
  • Hebrew Nuggets, Lesson 33: Gehenna
  • Hebrew Nuggets, Lesson 34: Nazirite
  • Hebrew Nuggets: Transliteration System
  • William Lockton, Robert Lindsey’s Forerunner
  • Hendiadys in the Synoptic Gospels
  • Hidden Treasure and Priceless Pearl Parables
  • Highlights of the Beginner’s Hebrew Course
  • Houses on Rock and Sand Parable
  • How Long Was Jesus in the Tomb?
  • “How to Pray” complex
  • The “Hypocrisy” of the Pharisees
  • I am teaching a class on Second Temple Jewish eschatology. Can you suggest a book or other source material that I could use?
  • I happily stand corrected!
  • If King David were alive today, could he communicate with Israel’s president?
  • Indiscriminate Catastrophe
  • Innocent Blood
  • Introduction to The Life of Yeshua: A Suggested Reconstruction Addendum: Linguistic Features of the Baraita in b. Kid. 66a
  • Introduction to The Life of Yeshua: A Suggested Reconstruction
  • Is there apostolic authority and authorship of New Testament Scriptures?
  • Israel Experiences Unprecedented Rainfall and Snowfall
  • Israel: A Relief Map on the Scale of 1:1
  • Israel’s Water Situation
  • “Jehovah”: A Christian Misunderstanding
  • Perspective on Dan Brown’s The Da Vinci Code
  • Jesus and a Canaanite Woman
  • Jesus and the Enigmatic “Green Tree”
  • Jesus and the Oral Torah: Blessing
  • Jesus and the Oral Torah: Did Jesus Wear Phylacteries?
  • Jesus and the Oral Torah: The Hem of His Garment
  • Jesus and the Oral Torah: The Unutterable Name of God
  • Jesus and the Oral Torah: Tithing
  • Jesus and the Oral Torah: Written and Oral Torah
  • Jesus as a Contributor of Oral Torah: His Teaching Techniques
  • Jesus in Judea
  • Jesus’ Education
  • Jesus’ Use of Scriptural Allusion
  • Jesus’ “Harvest” Saying
  • Jesus’ Attitude to Poverty
  • Jesus’ Use of “Amen”: Introduction or Response?
  • Jesus’ Yoke and Burden
  • King Parables
  • The Kingdom of Heaven
  • The Kingdom of Heaven Is Increasing
  • Leah’s Tender Eyes
  • Lesson of Lot’s Wife
  • Like Children Complaining
  • Looking Back at Forty Years in Israel
  • Lord’s Prayer
  • Lost Sheep and Lost Coin Similes
  • LOY Excursus: Sources of the “Strings of Pearls” in Luke’s Gospel
  • LOY Excursus: Catalog of Markan Stereotypes and Possible Markan Pick-ups
  • LOY Excursus: Criteria for Distinguishing Type 1 from Type 2 Double Tradition Pericopae
  • LOY Excursus: Criteria for Identifying Separated Twin Parables and Similes in the Synoptic Gospels
  • LOY Excursus: Greek Transliterations of Hebrew, Aramaic and Hebrew/Aramaic Words in the Synoptic Gospels
  • LOY Excursus: Greek-Hebrew Equivalents in the LOY Reconstructions
  • LOY Excursus: Mark’s Editorial Style
  • LOY Excursus: Synoptic Fidelity to the Anthology
  • LOY Excursus: The Dates of the Synoptic Gospels
  • LOY Excursus: The Kingdom of Heaven in the Life of Yeshua
  • Making Disciples: A Christian Imperative
  • Map of the Conjectured Hebrew Life of Yeshua
  • Mark 7:19: Did Jesus Make “Unclean” Food “Clean”?
  • Mary and Martha: The Rest of the Story
  • Matthew 16:18: The Petros-petra Wordplay—Greek, Aramaic, or Hebrew?
  • Matthew 5:17: “Destroy” the Law
  • Matthew 5:19: The Importance of “Light” Commandments
  • Matthew 6:22-23: Jesus’ “Good Eye” Saying
  • A Measure of Humility
  • Medieval Jargon on First-century Lips
  • A Milestone in Halvor Ronning’s Life: Cause for Reflection
  • Milestones in the Life of Robert Lisle Lindsey
  • The Miraculous Catch: Reflections on the Research of Mendel Nun
  • “Mission of the Twelve” complex
  • Mustard Seed and Starter Dough Parables
  • My Father in Israel
  • My Knowledge of Greek: An Embarrassment for Too Long!
  • Mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven
  • Narrow Gate
  • New BBC Documentary about Jesus
  • The New International Jesus
  • A New Solution to the Synoptic Problem
  • No Longer Aliens (and Enemies) of the Commonwealth of Israel!
  • Not Everyone Can Be Yeshua’s Disciple
  • Noun Chains in the Gospels
  • One Torah Reader, Not Seven!
  • The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus: Did the Rich Man End Up in Hell or Gehenna? (Luke 16:22)
  • Parables and Foundations
  • Parables of the Lost Sheep and Lost Coin
  • Persistent Widow Parable
  • A Personal Tribute to Professor Shmuel Safrai, Recipient of the Israel Prize
  • Perspective on Robert L. Lindsey
  • Perspective on the Caiaphas Tomb
  • Pilgrim’s Graffito
  • Possessed Man in Girgashite Territory
  • “Power of Faith” complex
  • Prayers for Emergencies
  • Praying Like Gentiles
  • Preparations for Eating the Passover Lamb
  • Preserving and Destroying
  • “Prophet” as a Messianic Title
  • “Prophets and Kings”: The Evangelist Luke’s Curious Doublet
  • The Queen of Teman
  • Quieting a Storm
  • Rabbinic Literature: A Spiritual Treasure for Christians
  • “Recovering the ‘Inspired Text’?”—A Response to Michael Brown
  • Reflections at 65
  • Remembering Robert L. Lindsey
  • A Renewable Covenant
  • Return of the Twelve
  • Return to the Galil
  • Rich Man Declines the Kingdom of Heaven
  • The Rich Young Ruler Story: Personal Application
  • Romans 11: The Olive Tree’s Root
  • Scholarly Assumptions about the Historical Jesus
  • Scirbal Scribal Errors
  • Sea of Galilee Museum Opens Its Doors
  • Selected Examples of Rewriting in Mark’s Account of Jesus’ Last Week
  • Semitic Background to the Nain Story
  • Sending the Twelve: “The Harvest Is Plentiful” and “A Flock Among Wolves”
  • Sending the Twelve: Apostle and Sender
  • Sending the Twelve: Commissioning
  • Sending the Twelve: Conduct in Town
  • Sending the Twelve: Conduct on the Road
  • Sermon’s End
  • Shouldn’t the word “Christ” be translated “Messiah” in our English Bibles?
  • “Showing Proper Humility” complex
  • Sidebar: A Sadducee Who Believed in an Afterlife?
  • Sidebar: The Intricacies of Hebrew Gender
  • The Sign of Jonah: How Long Was Jesus in the Tomb?
  • Sign-Seeking Generation
  • The Significance of Jesus’ Words “Not One Jot or One Tittle Will Pass from the Law” (Matt. 5:18)
  • Son of Man and Son of God
  • Son of Man’s Coming
  • Spontaneous Growth Parable
  • The Strength of Weakness
  • “Success of the Twelve” complex
  • Sidebar: Synagogue Guest House for First-century Pilgrims
  • The Syndicated Donkey
  • Teaching in Kefar Nahum
  • Temple’s Destruction Foretold
  • The Tetragrammaton
  • “They Didn’t Dare” (Matt 22:46; Mark 12:34; Luke 20:40): A Window on the Literary and Redactional Methods of the Synoptic Gospel Writers
  • To Be, or Not to Be, in the Driver’s Seat?
  • “Torah and the Kingdom of Heaven” complex
  • Tower Builder and King Going to War Similes
  • The Traveling Sage
  • Tribute to Shmuel Safrai
  • Tumultuous Times
  • Unexpected Thief
  • Us and Them: Loving Both
  • The Value of Translating the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke to Hebrew
  • Video Clip: David N. Bivin on “The Value of Translating Matthew, Mark and Luke to Hebrew”
  • Views of the Jerusalem School of Synoptic Research
  • Views That Have Vanished: The Photographs of David Bivin
  • A Voice Crying
  • Waiting Maidens Parable
  • Was Jesus a Confirmed Bachelor?
  • Was Jesus a Rabbi?
  • Was New Orleans Punished for Its Sinfulness?
  • What is the meaning of “firstborn male” in Luke 2:23?
  • What Language Did Jesus Really Speak?
  • What’s Happening to the Holy Tongue?
  • Who is a Jew?
  • Who Was Jesus?
  • Why does Jerusalem Perspective use the Greek name “Jesus” instead of “Y’shua” or “Yeshua”?
  • Why Learn to Speak a Dead Language?
  • Widow’s Son in Nain
  • Withered Fig Tree
  • Woes on Three Villages
  • A Woman’s Misplaced Blessing
  • The Writings of Robert L. Lindsey
  • Yerushalayim Besieged
  • “Yeshua and Levi the Toll Collector” complex
  • Yeshua, His Mother and Brothers
  • Yeshua’s Discourse on Worry
  • Yeshua’s Immersion
  • “Yeshua’s Selectivity in Accepting Disciples” complex
  • Yeshua’s Thanksgiving Hymn
  • “Yohanan the Immerser and the Kingdom of Heaven” complex
  • Yohanan the Immerser Demands Repentance
  • Yohanan the Immerser’s Eschatological Discourse
  • Yohanan the Immerser’s Execution
  • Yohanan the Immerser’s Exhortations
  • Yeshua’s Words about Yohanan the Immerser
  • Yohanan the Immerser’s Question