The Bible Miniseries Review: Part 1

Growing up, I never knew how to picture people from the Bible. The Old Testament stories I learned made the people of the Bible seem so different. It was hard to sketch a mental picture of people like Noah, Abraham, and Moses – they just seemed so unreal and unfamiliar to me. Don’t get me wrong – I fully believe they were real people to whom God spoke. I just tended to picture them like the illustrations in Sunday school materials, not as real life people.

That’s what made The Bible: Part One so interesting. These characters finally came to life. No longer were they only recorded on the pages of Scripture. No longer were they confined to a relatively unimaginative imagination. We saw an idea of what these main players in the Bible were like – their mannerisms and emotions, their struggles and joys, their doubts and their faith. The portrayal of these players in the Old Testament was, in my opinion, largely faithful to Scripture while allowing for some creative license.

To be sure, The Bible: Part One had its share of inaccuracies. For instance, in this depiction, the rainbow appeared before the flood waters had receded (cf. Genesis 9:12-17). Abraham and Sarah did not have their names changed by God (cf. Genesis 17:5,15). The number of Israelites in the Exodus was not nearly enough (cf. Exodus 12:37-38). These and other mistakes were relatively small slip-ups.

However, there were some larger areas of disagreement with the Bible. The Bible does not mention a slaughter of the Sodomites by the angels of the Lord, yet we viewed an action sequence reminiscent of Gladiator. Another example was found in the sacrifice of Isaac. Genesis 22 tells us that Abraham traveled three days to get to the place of sacrifice, but we saw Sarah frantically scrambling up a nearby hill to save her son. Likewise, a rivalry between Pharaoh’s son and Moses is not recorded in God’s Word, yet this rivalry played a prominent role in the depiction of the Exodus.

Keeping the 8th Commandment in mind, we don’t assume that the directors and producers have no regard for the Bible. On the contrary, the production team must care very much for the Bible, since they have spent time, money, and energy on this large undertaking. Rather, we can attribute many of these discrepancies with Scripture to artistic license, a penchant for drama, or time limitations. Our culture is one that demands entertainment, and the production team thought some embellishment or added drama was needed to keep people entertained. Also, imagine the difficult decisions that went into this project, which essentially consisted of taking a 2,000 page book and condensing it into less than ten hours of television. Some corners had to be cut in order to fit the given time frame.

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For me, that is the real pull of this miniseries. Any large-scale portrayal of the Bible will have its mistakes and inaccuracies. That’s almost expected. But seeing these characters come to life, seeing how others picture these heroes of faith, and comparing that with our own ideas about these people is what this series brings to the table. More importantly, a series like this one must drive us back to the words of Scripture. We must diligently re-read these accounts to build up our faith and enhance our understanding. Combine this series with a careful rereading of these great accounts of the Bible, and this is a miniseries worth watching.

For a printable version of this review click here.

What did you think of The Bible Miniseries: Part One? Join the The Bible–Bread for Beggars Discussion Group to share your thoughts and questions.

Download this week’s reading guide: Reading Guide Week 1–March 3.

Be sure to check out more The Bible Miniseries: Resources.