In the Beginning (2000)

In the Beginning is the story about the travels and travails of the tribe of Abraham. Set around the year 2000 B.C., the narrative opens with “Genesis 12,” wherein the Lord has told Abraham and company to leave their country to a land of milk and honey to be named later. In order to keep up the morale of his followers while on the road, Abraham gives a sermon that sums up God’s creation of the universe. By illustrating this sermon with stock footage and special-effects shots, the producers attempt to make a connection between sermons of old and popular entertainments of today.

From there, the twists and turns of the Old Testament are treated like a soap opera. Family dramas take center stage, whether it’s God testing Abraham by telling him to kill his son in sacrifice, Joseph gaining power in Egypt after being sold to slave traders by his brothers, or one of the many other stories of brothers fighting (Cain and Abel, Isaac and Ishmael, etc.). Many events are visualized such as the plagues and the parting of the Red Sea, to name but two.