Paul K.-K. Cho is Professor of Hebrew Bible and the Director of the MTS program. He began teaching at Wesley Theological Seminary in 2013.
Cho teaches on a range of biblical books and topics and emphasizes the close reading of texts as well as the reading of texts in their historical and literary contexts.
Cho’s research interests center on the literary and theological interpretation of the Hebrew Bible. He has published books on Myth, History, and Metaphor in the Hebrew Bible (Cambridge University Press, 2019) and Willingness to Die and the Gift of Life: Suicide and Martyrdom in the Hebrew Bible (Eerdmans, 2022). His current research focuses on trauma and resilience, in particular as they relate to the book of Job read within the larger context of biblical and other ancient Near Eastern traditions.
Cho is Presbyterian and served local congregations in New Haven and Toronto. He maintains an active agenda of service to the church as preacher, speaker, and commentator.
Education
BA, Yale University
MDiv, Yale Divinity School
PhD, Harvard University
Publications (selected)
Books
Myth, History, and Metaphor in the Hebrew Bible. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2019.
Willingness to Die and the Gift of Life: Suicide and Martyrdom in the Hebrew Bible. Eerdmans. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2022.
Articles
“Death and Feasting in the ‘Isaiah Apocalypse’ (Isaiah 25:6–8),” with Janling Fu. Pages 117–42 in Intertextuality and Formation of Isaiah 24–27. Edited by Todd Hibbard and Hyun Chul Paul Kim. SBLAIL 17. Atlanta: SBL, 2013.
“The Integrity of Job 1 and 42:11–17,” Catholic Biblical Quarterly 76 (2014): 230–51.
“Job 2 and 42:7–10 as Narrative Bridge and Theological Pivot,” Journal of Biblical Literature 136 (2017): 857–77.
“‘I Have Become a Brother of Jackals’: Evolutionary Psychology and Suicide in the Book of Job,” Biblical Interpretation 27 (2019): 208–34.
“Job the Penitent: Whether and Why Job Repents (Job 42:6).” Pages 145–74 in Landscapes of Korean/Korean-American Biblical Interpretation. International Voices in Biblical Studies 10. Edited by John Ahn. Atlanta: SBL, 2019.
“The Sea as Everyday Space (Psalms 104:25–26 and 107:23–32),” Lexington Theological Quarterly 49 (2019, published in 2021): 79–106.
“The Work of Translation” (Review Essay of Edward L. Greenstein, Job: A New Translation), Harvard Theological Review 114 (2021): 288–303.
“A House of Her Own: The Tactical Deployment of Strategy in Esther,” Journal of Biblical Literature 140 (2021): 663–82.
“Biblical Samson, Milton’s Samson Agonistes, and Modern Terrorism.” Pages 141–55 in Studies in the History of Exegesis. Edited by Mark Elliott, Raleigh C. Heth, and Angela Zautcke. Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2022.
Classes Taught
Introduction to the Hebrew Bible
OT Exegesis: Exodus
OT Exegesis: Exploration in Trauma and Bible
OT Exegesis: Isaiah
OT Exegesis: Job
OT Exegesis: Willingness to Die in the Hebrew Bible
PMM: Practice in Ministry and Mission Colloquy
