Foto Goran Živković, Ph.D.

Goran Živković, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Old Testament |
School of Theology

Goran Živković, Ph.D.
McMaster Divinity College, Canada
Assistant Professor of Old Testament |
School of Theology

An der Ihle 5
39291 Möckern-Friedensau

Raum: LÜP 203 a
Telefon: +49 3921 916-205
Fax: +49 3921 916-205
E-Mail:

About

Goran Zivkovic holds a BA in Theology from the Belgrade Theological Seminary (Serbia), a Master of Arts in Biblical Studies from Lampeter University (United Kingdom), and a Ph.D. from McMaster Divinity College (Canada). His Ph.D. dissertation, “Rites in and Out of Place: A Critical Examination of the Ritual Production of Space in Haggai–Zechariah 1–8,” developed a groundbreaking approach combining insights from ritual studies and critical spatiality to address the complex dynamics of the ritual production of space as depicted in this biblical corpus.

Goran began his teaching career in 2008 as a lecturer in biblical languages at the Belgrade Theological Seminary (Serbia), where he taught from 2008 to 2011. Since 2023, he has held a full-time position as an assistant professor of Old Testament at Theologische Hochschule Friedensau, Germany. In addition to his role at Friedensau University, Dr. Zivkovic serves as an adjunct professor of Old Testament at the Belgrade Theological Seminary (since 2019) and Baltic Union Theological Seminary (since 2025). He is also an assistant professor of Global Christianity at McMaster Divinity College, Canada.

An active participant in academic discourse, Goran Zivkovic regularly attends and presents papers at regional and national conferences. He has presented his work more than ten times at the annual meetings of the Society of Biblical Literature, where he also serves as a co-chair of the Ritual in the Biblical World Section. His research interests encompass biblical interpretation through various socio-scientific approaches, including ritual studies, spatial theory, and ecological hermeneutics. His study focuses on the prophetic literature and the post-exilic period within the Hebrew Bible. Goran and his wife, Branka, have lived and worked in five different countries. Together, they are proud parents of two children, Sarah and Nathan.

Icon PlusVita

  • Born in 1981
  • High School diploma 1999
  • 2000–2004 B.A. in Theology, Belgrade Theological Seminary (summa cum laude)
  • 2004–2006 Pastor, Serbia
  • 2006–2008 M.A. in Biblical Studies (pathway Biblical Languages), Lampeter University, UK
  • 2009–2011 Lecturer of Biblical Languages, Belgrade Theological Seminary
  • 2011–2023 Senior Pastor, Toronto, ON, Canada
  • 2019–current adjunct professor of Old Testament, Belgrade Theological Seminary, Serbia
  • 2015–2022 Ph.D. in Christian Theology (Old Testament), McMaster Divinity College, Canada
  • 2023–current Dozent für Altes Testament, Friedensau University (Theologische Hochschule Friedensau)
  • 2025-adjunct professor of Old Testament at Baltic Union Theological Seminary, Latvia
  • 2025-adjunct assistant professor of Global Christianity at McMaster Divinity College, Canada

Icon PlusResearch Projects

  • Zivkovic, Goran. Rites in and Out of Place: A Critical Examination of the Ritual Production of Space in Haggai–Zechariah 1–8. Ph.D. Dissertation. Mc.Master Divinity College. Supervisors: Profs. Mark J. Boda and Paul S. Evans. Awarded: May 2023.
  • Zivkovic, Goran. Hermeneutical Foundations of the Hebrews: A Text-linguistics Study of the Appropriations of Old Testament Material in Hebrews 8–9. M.A. Thesis. Lampeter University. Supervisors: Profs. Aulikki Nahkola and Jean-Claude Verrecchia. Awarded: May 2009.

Icon PlusDictionary Articles

  • “Restauration of Israel.” Seventh-day Adventist International Biblical Theological Dictionary (forthcoming).
  • “Judgment of Nations.” Seventh-day Adventist International Biblical Theological Dictionary (forthcoming).
  • “Land.” Seventh-day Adventist International Biblical Theological Dictionary (forthcoming).
  • “Naked, Nakedness.” Seventh-day Adventist International Biblical Theological Dictionary (forthcoming).
  • “Kill.” Seventh-day Adventist International Biblical Theological Dictionary (forthcoming).
  • “Dominion.” Seventh-day Adventist International Biblical Theological Dictionary (forthcoming).
  • “Deontological Ethics, Deontology.” Seventh-day Adventist International Biblical Theological Dictionary (forthcoming).
  • “Fence, Fenced.” Seventh-day Adventist International Biblical Theological Dictionary (forthcoming).
  • “Foul.” Seventh-day Adventist International Biblical Theological Dictionary (forthcoming).
  • “Furnish.” Seventh-day Adventist International Biblical Theological Dictionary (forthcoming).
  • “Foreign, Foreigner.” Seventh-day Adventist International Biblical Theological Dictionary (forthcoming).
  • “Feed.” Seventh-day Adventist International Biblical Theological Dictionary (forthcoming).
  • “Frontlets.” Seventh-day Adventist International Biblical Theological Dictionary (forthcoming).

Icon PlusAcademic Papers and Responses

  • “The Ritual Politics of Emotion: The Interrelationship between Ritual and Emotion in the Formation of Social Identity in Malachi.” Paper: Society of Biblical Studies Annual Meeting, Ritual in the Biblical World (San Diego, November 2024).
  • “From Famine to Feast: Impact of Ritual Practices on the Food (In)Security in the Book of Haggai.” Paper: Society of Biblical Studies Annual Meeting, Meals in the HB/OT and Its World (San Diego, November 2024).
  • “Ecological Nature of Rituals: Ritual Production of Environment in the Book of Joel.” Paper: Society of Biblical Studies Annual Meeting, Ritual in the Biblical World (San Antonio, November 2023).
  • “From Wilting to Flourishing: The Reimagining of Nature in the Haggai–Zechariah 1–8 Corpus.” Paper: Society of Biblical Studies Annual Meeting, Nature Imagery and Conceptions of Nature in the Bible (San Antonio, November 2023).
  • “Reimagining Nature: The Transformative Function of Nature Imagery in the Haggai–Zechariah 1–8 Corpus.” Paper: Canadian Society of Biblical Studies Virtual Annual Meeting (June 2023).
  • “Gegenwart und Zukunft der Alttestamentlichen Wissenschaft: Interdisziplinäre Ansätze zur Interpretation des Alten Testaments.” Fachvortag: Theologische Hochschule Friedensau (Möckern-Friedensau, November 2022).
  • “Rites of Passage Reimagined: The Transformative Function of Imagined Rituals in the Haggai-Zechariah 1-8 Corpus.” Paper: Society of Biblical Studies Annual Meeting, Ritual in the Biblical World (Denver, November 2022).
  • “Rites of Space Passage: Ritual Production of Space in Zechariah 7–8,” Paper: Society of Biblical Studies Annual Meeting, Book of the Twelve Prophets (Denver, November 2022).
  • “Pure or Impure? The Cleansing of the Temple, the Land, and the People: Formation of the Social Identity in the Haggai–Zechariah Corpus. Paper: Conference on Adventist Identity (Andrews University, October, 2022).
  • “Rites of Passage Reimagined: The Transformative Function of Imagined Rituals in the Haggai–Zechariah 1–8 Corpus,” Paper: Canadian Society of Biblical Studies Virtual Annual Meeting (June 2022).
  • “From Ruined (חרב) House to Ruined (חרב) Land (Haggai 1:9–11): Ritual and Ecological Ethics in Haggai,” Paper: Society of Biblical Studies Annual Meeting, Ecological Hermeneutics (San Antonio, November 2021).
  • “Rites In and Out of Place: The Role of Ritual in the Construction of Space in the Book of Haggai,” Paper: Society of Biblical Studies Annual Meeting, Space, Place, and Lived Experience in Antiquity (San Antonio, November 2021).
  • “The Rites of Space Passage: The Role of Ritual in the Production of Space in the Book of Haggai,” Paper: Canadian Society of Biblical Studies Virtual Annual Meeting (June 2021).
  • “To Shake Place: The Ritual Transformation of Space in the Book of Haggai,” Paper: Department of Theological Research Seminar (McMaster Divinity College, Hamilton, ON, February 2021).
  • “Blending the Seemingly Unblendable: Purity in the Book of Malachi,” Paper: Society of Biblical Literature Virtual Annual Meeting, Book of the Twelve Prophets (December 2020).
  • “Exiles in the Homeland: Ritual Purification and (Re)construction of the Social Identity of Israel in Zechariah,” Paper: Society of Biblical Literature Virtual Annual Meeting, Ritual in the Biblical World (December 2020).
  • “How to Write a Dissertation Proposal,” Lecture: Old Testament Guilt (McMaster Divinity College, Hamilton, ON, March 2020).
  • “Blending the Seemingly Unblendable: Pure Purity in the Book of Malachi,” Paper: Department of Theological Research Seminar (McMaster Divinity College, Hamilton, ON, December 2018).

Icon PlusGuest Lectures

  • “The Book of Zechariah.” Lecture: Minor Prophets (Middle East University, Beirut, Lebanon, April 2024).
  • “The Book of Haggai.” Lecture: Minor Prophets (Middle East University, Beirut, Lebanon, April 2024).
  • “Introduction to the Post-Exilic Period.” Lecture: Minor Prophets (Middle East University, Beirut, Lebanon, April 2024).
  • “Some Tips for Ph.D. Dissertation Writing,” Lecture: Old Testament Guild (McMaster Divinity College, Hamilton, ON, April 2023).
  • “Working With Your Doctoral Committee,” Lecture: Advance Degree Colloquy (McMaster Divinity College, Hamilton, ON, January 2023).
  • “Es ist alles Hebräisch für mich”: Die Bedeutung des Erlernens von Biblischem Hebräisch. Lecture: Theologische Hochschule Friedensau (Möckern-Friedensau, November 2022).
  • “An Introduction to the Gospel of Luke” Lecture: Jesus in His time and Ours (Middle East University, Beirut, Lebanon, June 2020).
  • “Review of the Use of OT Prophecy in the Study of Christian Ethics: A Selective Annotated Bibliography with Introductory Notes,” Lecture: Ethics in the Biblical Tradition (McMaster Divinity College, Hamilton, ON, January 2018).
  • “Evangelicals and the Sacraments,” Lecture: Ministry and Evangelical Thought (McMaster Divinity College, Hamilton, ON, January 2018).
  • “A Brief Overview of the Early Achaemenid Period (539–486 BCE): Analysis of Main Sources and Historical Reconstruction,” Lecture: The History of Ancient Israel (McMaster Divinity College, Hamilton, ON, October 2017).
  • “The Cyrus Cylinder: An Introduction and a Selective Bibliography,” Lecture: The History of Ancient Israel (McMaster Divinity College, Hamilton, ON, September 2017).
  • “Literary Approaches to the Prophets: A Selective Annotated Bibliography with Introductory Notes,” Lecture: Critical Studies in Prophecy (McMaster Divinity College, Hamilton, ON, March 2017).

Icon PlusMagazine Articles

  • “Finding the Will of God: The Directions for Everyday Decisions.” Glasnik 5 (2021) 8-13. [Serbian]
  • “A Drunken Sailor.” Znaci Vremena XLV:2 (2014) 42–46. [Serbian]
  • “What Kind of Vice is That? More We Have It Ourselves, the More We Dislike It in Others?” Glasnik 1 (2013) 6–8. [Serbian]
  • “The Three Wise Men.” Teofil 3 (2002) 19–21. [Serbian]
  • “How to Hear God’s Voice?” Teofil 4 (2001) 23. [Serbian]

Icon PlusProfessional Memberships

  • Society of Biblical Literature, Member
  • Canadian Society of Biblical Studies, Member
  • Evangelical Theological Society, Member
  • Adventist Society of Religious Studies, Member
  • Adventist Theological Society, Member

Icon PlusTeaching

  • MEL 251 Issues in Former Prophets
  • MEL 252 Issues in Minor Prophets
  • BAT1-30-1 Hebräische Lektüre 1
  • BAT1-30-2 Geschichte Israels und Archäologie Palästinas
  • BAT2-50-1 Daniel
  • BAT2-50-2 Theologie des Alten Testaments
  • BAT1-40-3 Hebräische Lektüre 2
  • BAT1-40-4 Einleitung in das Alte Testament
  • BAT1-40-5 Exegese Pentateuch
  • BAT2-60-3 Hermeneutik und Exegese AT