Bible and Film

Illuminates Global Interpretations of Biblical Narratives Through Cinematic Storytelling and Critical Analysis

In a media landscape increasingly shaped by images, biblical narratives are now encountered more often through film than through text. Nevertheless, the interpretive frameworks needed to engage these portrayals critically are seldom developed with the same care as traditional textual analysis. In addition, discussions of Bible films largely engage American productions only. Bible and Film: An International and Intercultural Exploration situates cinematic adaptations of the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament within a global conversation. Rather than centering only familiar American productions, the book draws together films from a wide range of cultural and historical contexts to reveal how particular settings, artistic traditions, and social assumptions shape the way biblical stories are visualized and understood.

Bible and Film offers a structured and accessible approach to film analysis designed for both classroom and independent study. Each chapter places multiple cinematic treatments of a single biblical narrative into dialogue, enabling comparative interpretation grounded in clearly defined analytical issues introduced at the outset. Technical elements of film form, such as sound, editing, and narrative framing are integrated into the discussion and reinforced by an accompanying glossary, equipping readers with terminology and tools to articulate their insights.

Designed to strengthen readers' capacity to interpret biblical texts and films alike, Bible and Film:

• Examines seventy years of biblical filmmaking across multiple countries and production traditions
• Covers lesser-known regional and non-Western films that are rarely discussed in English-language scholarship
• Pairs international case studies with focused interpretive questions to reveal how the same biblical story shifts across cultures
• Provides a curated framework of six analytical issues applied consistently throughout the book
• Supports modular teaching, allowing individual chapters to stand alone in course design

Emphasizing collaborative, dialogical approaches to film interpretation and discussion, Bible and Film: An International and Intercultural Exploration is ideal for upper-level undergraduates, seminary students, and graduate learners in theology, religious studies, and film studies.

Melody D. Knowles is Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Associate Professor at Virginia Theological Seminary and the General Theological Seminary. A specialist in the reception of biblical texts, she has published widely on the Bible in culture and on-screen interpretation. She serves on the editorial boards of Biblical Interpretation and Catholic Biblical Quarterly.

Ian N. Mills is Visiting Assistant Professor of Classics and Religious Studies at Hamilton College. His research explores the transmission and adaptation of Jewish and Christian scripture in the ancient Mediterranean world. He is the co-host of the New Testament Review podcast, where he engages with emerging scholarship on biblical texts and their reception.