David Biale died on July 28, 2024, three days after his 75th birthday. He attended Harvard only for his freshman year, transferring to UC Berkeley where student activism was more robust. He completed the PhD in Jewish history at UCLA and taught first at SUNY Binghamton, then at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California, and finally for twenty-three years at UC Davis. He published thirteen books in Jewish history covering a wide range of topics and was considered by his colleagues one of the luminaries of his generation of Jewish historians. He was an avid biker, baker, and later in life, a student of the piano.

He leaves behind his wife, Rachel Biale, children Noam and Tali Biale and four grandchildren as well as legions of friends, colleagues, and devoted students.