 Gideon Toury was born in Haifa, the first child of the historian Jacob Toury (1915–2004) and his wife Eve.He completed high school at the Reali School in Haifa in 1960.After high-school, he did his military service in the Nahal Brigade and the paratroopers and as part of his training was sent to a kibbutz, to help out with the farming.