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Thomas Finley (Tom) received his Bachelor of Arts in psychology at Biola University in 1967. Continuing at Biola, he earned a Master of Divinity in Old Testament in 1971. In 1979 he received a Doctor of Philosophy in Near Eastern Languages from the University of California at Los Angeles. In his doctoral studies he focused on Semitic languages, particularly Akkadian, Aramaic, and Classical Hebrew. His dissertation examines word order in “Western Akkadian” in texts from the Amarna letters and Akkadian material in texts from Ugarit (Ras Shamra) in Syria. Talbot School of Theology hired him in 1976 to teach in the department of Old Testament and Semitics. He retired forty years later in 2016. The classes he taught included exegetical, linguistic, and historical studies related to the Old Testament. His major publications focus on the Minor Prophets and the book of Daniel, including A Commentary on Joel, Amos, and Obadiah (Wycliffe Exegetical Commentary, Moody 1990; revised, Biblical Studies Press, 2003), How Biblical Languages Work (co-authored with Dr. Peter Silzer, Kregel, 2004), and Interpreting Daniel for Preaching and Teaching (co-authored with Dr. Brandon Cash, Wipf&Stock, 2024). Tom also taught during summers at mission locations in India, Singapore, Indonesia, and Bulgaria. He is a member of the Evangelical Theological Society, the National Association of Professors of Hebrew, and the Society of Biblical Literature. Since retirement Tom has done consultation work with translators from Wycliffe Bible Translators, is working on the Spectrum Bible app, and reads Hebrew Bible online weekly with former or current Biola/Talbot students.