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A native Californian, Dr. Arbino has been at Gateway Seminary since 1986 and began his full-time teaching duties in 1996, achieving the rank of Full Professor in 2010. In addition to teaching and supervision of PhD, ThM, and DMin candidates, he served on numerous committees and functioned as Biblical Studies Department Chair for more than 15 years. Arbino was a key part of the leadership of the reaccreditation (WASC & ATS) processes from 2009-2025. He retired in 2025 and was granted Senior Faculty Status by the Trustees.

For Dr. Arbino, integrating the biblical text with its contexts (historical, literary, canonical, and theological) is essential for the interpretation of God's Word. Because of this, he has sought 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 the Divinely inspired product of the ancient world, one which continues to speak to our contemporary world. In this way, Dr. Arbino feels that "we will be conformed to the text rather than insisting that the text conform to us."

From 1990 to 2023, Arbino was active in archaeological excavations. He has served on staff at several digs in the Middle East: Tel Miqne-Ekron, Tall al-Umeryi, Beth Shemesh, Tel Rehov, and Khirbet Summeily. He served as the Senior Field Archaeologist for the Tel Gezer Excavations from 2006-2017 and continues in the publication phase of that project.  He has been published by Baylor, Oxford, and Harvard University presses, in addition to numerous articles for the Southern Baptist Biblical Illustrator.

As Curator of the Seminary's archaeological museum – the Marian Eakins Archaeological Collection, Dr. Arbino brought the results of archaeological fieldwork and analysis to students and local community members. From 1990 to 2025 he produced numerous exhibits at the Mill Valley, Fremont and Ontario campuses.  The current museum space consists of four galleries, with exhibits including Ancient Egypt, Roman Glassware, Bedouin Jewelry from Tell el-Hesi, Ancient Pottery, Archaeological Method, and Greek, Jewish, and Roman Period Coins.

A decades-long member of several professional organizations including the Society of Biblical Literature (SBL) and National Association of Professors of Hebrew (NAPH), Arbino remains active in the American Society for Overseas Research (ASOR) where he has often presented papers as well as serving on committees and task forces and as a Trustee.

Dr. Arbino is active in church, where he has taught a weekly adult Bible study class for over three decades. He lives with his wife, Maggie, and their senior dog, Pookah, in Petaluma.

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Degrees & Accolades

Ph.D. Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary
M.Div Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary
B.A. Humboldt State University