The Bible: Genesis and Exodus

"God is with us; trust in God." 

This is the message of "The Bible," or at least its first part, airing on the History channel. It doesn't start in the very obvious way: With a voice booming "In the beginning..." The first part starts with stormy seas which in my Bible (the New American Bible) is how the void is described before God starts creating. But no, it's the flood waters as we see the ark bouncing among the waves. Onboard, Noah recounts the creation to his scared family. He then goes into Adam and Eve, though they get barely a minute of screentime before we see Cain and Abel. Then Noah explains why God flooded the Earth. 



It's a great visual opening. But there is a problem, especially with cutting Adam and Eve down to barely a minute of screentime. It seems the creatives are operating on the assumption the audience is already familiar with the source material. It is probably a fair assessment but still is no excuse to really strip Adam and Eve from the story. Let us separate the religious aura of the Bible (which is difficult) and view it as another book. It isn't just a collection of random stories from an ancient people's history and mythology. It is a well-woven chronicle of it. And Adam and Eve is its inciting event. Their expulsion pushes all the events of the Bible forward. For those of the Judeo-Christian faith, it still pushes us forward. It deserves more than just a "Here's what happened before we join our story, already in progress." 

From Noah, the Bible then goes to Abraham and Sarah. Who are always referred to as such despite the fact a lot happens with them before God changes their names from Abram and Sarai. The producers decided to focus on tension between Abraham and Lot, something that gets just a line in Genesis. And it portrays Lot's wife as the instigator. Actually her role gets beefed up to the point that I found myself counting down to when she became a pillar of salt. Meanwhile, they tone down the animosity between Sarah and Hagar, the servant girl who Abraham has a son with--at Sarah's urging. In the Good Book, Sarah absolutely abuses Hagar to the point the woman runs away, where God promises her son will head a people of his own. In this, we just get them glaring at each other. When the miniseries plays the Bible stories straight, it is gorgeous and well done. But when it tries to insert drama rather than using the one already given to them in the Bible, it's a bit clunky. Or sometimes, unneccessary and detracts from the moment. The moment where Abraham believes he has to sacrifice his son is already wrought with tension. When it cuts to a distraught Sarah running up the hill to try and stop him, it is a bit laughable and breaks the mood. 

But as we all know, Isaac was spared. So the story goes from this to the Israelites seeking refuge in Egypt. It is understandable that the producers could not do every story contained in Genesis. But there is not a single mention of Jacob, from whom the name "Israel" comes. Imagine the tension when Jacob tricks a nearly blind Isaac into receiving the blessing meant for twin brother Esau? Or when Jacob wrestled with the angel, earning the name "Isael"? It is understandable to not tell the story of Joseph and his coat, but they could've at least mentioned it was Jacob who led the Israelites into Egypt. 

But let's head into Exodus. In this part, the stories are played straight for the most part--though once again, the fact Moses' biological mother served as his nurse is once again ignored. The creatives had a daunting challenge--how to tell a story immortalized by "The Ten Commandments" and still be fresh. And it does so by being faithful to the Bible, for the most part. Certain things are played up and there is a noticeable lack of the column of fire preventing the Egyptians from reaching the Israelites as well as the Golden Cow. The first part ends outside the walls of Jericho, including Rahab. 

The whole series is very visual but it also has a good cast. It looks to be a good start.