Faculty & Staff Directory
Thomas Wetzel, PhD
Title/s: Associate Professor of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament
Office #: Crown Center 435
Phone: 773.508.2502
Email: twetzel@luc.edu
CV Link: Wetzel
Degrees
ThD, Harvard Divinity School (2015; area of emphasis: Hebrew Bible)
PhD, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (2000; area of emphasis: English and Literary Studies/Post-Civil War American Literature)
MA, Marquette University (2006; area of emphasis: theology)
MA, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (1994; area of emphasis: English and Literary Studies)
Program Areas
New Testament and Early Christianity
Research Interests
Biblical theology in the life, practice, and prayer of Catholic communities; Understanding the ongoing roles of Israel and the Church as covenant partners in the work of divine reconciliation of creation; The role of visual arts and narrative as means for practicing theology and religious observance; Deuteronomistic History, especially the Josianic crisis and its influence on New Testament thought; Prophetic biblical literature and its interpretation (both Former and Latter Prophets); Violence and pacifism in the Bible and in the Jewish and Christian traditions; Flannery O’Connor: her theology, narrative voice, and the influence of Scripture on her writing
Selected Publications
The Hidden Covenant: Purim and the Observant Narrator in the Esther Story (book manuscript in progress and under contract with Cascade Books; projected completion in March 2023)
Violence and Divine Victory in the Book of Esther (Mohr Seibeck; July 1, 2022)
“An Unpleasant Little Jolt: Flannery O’Connor’s Creation ex Chaos” Reading Flannery O’Connor in Spain: From Andalusia to Andalucía ed. Mark Bosco, SJ and Beatriz Valverde. (Washington, DC: Catholic University Press of America, 2020). 191–212
“War in the Bible.” The SAGE Encyclopedia of War: Social Science Perspectives ed. Paul Joseph. (Thousand Oaks: SAGE Publications, 2017). 167–170
