Daniel Sivan

Daniel Sivan was born in 1949 in Casablanca

Daniel Sibboni, later Sivan, was born in Casablanca, Morocco. He came to Israel with his parents Makhluf and Allen and his brothers Shmuel and Michel, and the family settled in the Shikkun Canaan neighborhood of Safed. His youngest brother, Gabi Siboni, was born there.

In August 1967 he joined the IDF and served as a coding instructor in the signals corps at Tzrifin. After his service he moved to Ramat Gan.

He studied Bible and Hebrew Language at Tel Aviv University, then earned a master's degree in Hebrew and Semitic languages. His doctorate dealt with Northwest Semitic words in Akkadian texts from the Land of Israel and Syria, under Gideon Goldenberg and Anson Rainey.

In 1979 he became a lecturer at Ben-Gurion University, and in 1997 a full professor. He headed the Department of Hebrew Language, chaired the university publishing house from 1998 to 2013, and coedited the Ariel dictionaries. His research argued that Ugaritic should be seen as an independent Northwest Semitic language, not a Canaanite one.

He also played guitar and sang blues and jazz with his brother in the band Koah Meshikha, and hosted a weekly jazz program on Radio Darom from 2009 to 2011. He died on August 6, 2026.