Michael Homan


Michael Mathias Homan was a Professor of Theology and Department Head at Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans. He attended the University of Nebraska Omaha, and the University of California San Diego where he majored in Hebrew Bible and minored in Near Eastern Archaeology and Ancient Near Eastern History and Religion. Homan taught courses in Hebrew Bible, Hebrew language, ancient Near Eastern religion, and a course about the cemeteries of New Orleans.
Homan received numerous academic awards and honors. He was a 2015-2016 Fulbright Scholar who did research at the Cyprus American Archaeology Research Institute. He received the 2006 Distinguished Alumnus Award from the University of Nebraska Omaha, and he is featured in UNO Magazine as number 18 of interesting graduates. He received fellowships to conduct research at the Albright Institute of Archaeological Research and the American Center of Oriental Research. He was elected a member of the Catholic Biblical Association of America, was granted the Member Service Award from the American Schools of Oriental Research, and received the Junior Scholar Award from the Southwest Commission on Religious Studies. Homan’s book To Your Tents, O Israel! The Terminology, Function, Form, and Symbolism of Tents in the Hebrew Bible and the Ancient Near East received the 2003 Frank Moore Cross Publications Award from the American Schools of Oriental Research for the author of the most substantial volume related to ancient Near Eastern and eastern Mediterranean epigraphy, text and/or tradition.

Writings

In addition to numerous articles, he is the author of several books:
  • To Your Tents, O Israel! The Terminology, Function, Form, and Symbolism of Tents in the Hebrew Bible and the Ancient Near East. Culture and History of the Ancient Near East, 12.
  • He is the co-author of The Bible for Dummies.. Tamra studies this book on The Real Housewives of Orange County.
  • He is the co-author of The Nine Commandments.. This book was cited in Petitioner’s Brief of Van Orden v. Perry in the U.S. Supreme Court to state that “differing religions have varying versions of the Ten Commandments and the choice of a version prefers some religions over others.”
  • He is the co-author of . This was featured in The Chronicle of Higher Education.
  • Grendel Gander The Sinister Goose: The Fowl Fable of a Low-Down Stinking Bird. Illustrations by Peat Duggins.

Near Eastern archaeology

Dr. Homan served as an Area Supervisor on numerous archaeological excavations in Jordan and Israel, including the Marj Rabba Project, Barqa Landscape Survey, Tel Zeitah Excavations, Jabal Hamrat Fidan Research Project, and Nahal Tillah. He served as Vice President of Program for the American Schools of Oriental Research, and the President of the Southwest Region of the American Schools of Oriental Research.

Musical career

Homan played bass guitar in the seminal Omaha punk band No Heroes. He then joined Apathy, playing bass on the album Out the Window on Fat Bat Records. Homan later played guitar and sang in the New Orleans band Half Pagan, co-founded with Bart Everson in 2018. Their debut album Lamentations received positive reviews.

Movies

Homan has written, directed, and produced several movies, including:
  • Kalypso's New Orleans.
  • Geauxjira. The film was featured in Big Easy Magazine.
  • The Theologians.

Personal life

Michael Homan married Therese M. Fitzpatrick in 1991. They have two children, Kalypso Cecilia Homan and Gilgamesh Atticus Alexander Homan. Gilgamesh died in a skateboard accident in 2019.
Michael Homan died of organ failure, three years to the day after his son's death.