Mary Katherine Hom – The Assyrians and the Old Testament

Episode: For this episode, Matt Lynch sits down with long time friend Mary Hom to talk about her longstanding interest in the Assyrians and the Old Testament. Matt asks questions about her work on Jonah and Girard, Isaiah and the Assyrians, and Hezekiah’s tunnel (or not). They also discuss the intersection between Mary’s interest in the Old Testament and her ministry work in anti-trafficking.

Guest: Mary Katherine Hom is a freelance Old Testament scholar. Formerly an Assistant Professor of Biblical Studies at Ambrose University (College), she has since explored more integrative approaches between Biblical Studies and the Christian life, from an in-depth exploration of the charismatic movement at Bethel Church to backpacking southern Africa to volunteering alongside anti-trafficking NGOs in Asia to—most personally humbling and profound for her—caring for her 95-year-old grandmother in hospice at home.

Mary has a BM in Violin Performance; an MDiv in New Testament and Theology (Regent College); a ThM in Old Testament (Regent College); and a PhD in Hebrew Bible (University of Cambridge). Her published dissertation, The Characterization of the Assyrians in Isaiah: Synchronic and Diachronic Perspectives (LHBOTS), awaits its prequel as she updates the remainder of her PhD work for a similar study on the characterization of the Assyrians in Kings and Chronicles. She also has interests in collaborative, interdisciplinary work, having published this year on the confluence of Biblical Studies and Archaeology in the Journal of Biblical Literature and recently presented at the Psychology and Biblical Studies unit at the Society of Biblical Literature annual conference. If and when she completes her various ‘high-brow’ projects, Mary would like to focus more on biblical-theological work that speaks to the church and Christian life, in its depth and width.

Book: Mary is the author of The Characterization of the Assyrians in Isaiah: Synchronic and Diachronic Perspectives (Bloomsbury, 2014). Her book explores the varied portraits of the Assyrians in Isaiah from synchronic (i.e., textual unity) and diachronic (i.e., textual development) perspectives. Her work focuses on the literary artistry, rhetorical effect, and theological significance of Isaiah’s Assyrian portraits.