Sparks Commentary: A review of “Kingdom of David: The Saga of the Israelites” (PBS Empires)

“And David perceived that the LORD had confirmed him king over Israel, for his kingdom was lifted up on high, because of his people Israel.”

- The Hebrew Bible, “The First Book of the Chronicles,” Chapter 14, Verse 2 (as translated by the King James Version of the Bible)

The title of this documentary is only partially correct – it's not about the “Kingdom of David”

The title of this documentary is only partially correct. This is indeed “The Saga of the Israelites,” but it actually has very little coverage of the “Kingdom of David” itself (although it's still a great documentary despite this). It is actually a documentary on a different topic, and has a broader focus than the brief “Kingdom of David.” It instead covers a much broader period of history, including Judaism's clashes with the Greeks and Romans. If you go into this documentary expecting its title to be accurate, you may thus be somewhat disappointed. But this documentary has much to offer despite these things, and covers some history that you may not have heard about. A few Americans will have already heard these stories, I think, but I suspect that most have not; and I was definitely in this category before watching this. I think that I can recommend this documentary to everyone – both Jews and Gentiles.

But it really is “The Saga of the Israelites” (in at least some periods)

First of all, this documentary is a history of the Jews (in at least some periods). It is not a history of Christianity, or even of the Jewish roots of Christianity. Its focus is on Judaism, and thus interviews a number of rabbis and Jewish scholars. Christians expecting interviews with Christian scholars may be somewhat disappointed here, but the Jewish focus definitely has its advantages. If you're wondering about my own religious convictions, I might as well disclose them here, so that you will know where I'm coming from in this review. Thus, I am a Christian – and more specifically, a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.– who has a profound respect for Judaism. More to the point, I have a great interest in its history, both before and after Christ; and think that there is much to learn for both Jews and Christians from their history. Their coverage of Judaism does not stop at the moment that the Christian religion was born, although some insights into Christianity's Jewish roots do appear anyway. Nevertheless, the focus of this documentary is on the Jews, and so one gains great insight into Ancient Hebrew culture.

Modern reconstruction of what the Second Temple may have looked like

Your opinion of the first episode may depend somewhat on your familiarity with the Bible …

Your opinion of the first episode may depend somewhat upon your familiarity with the Bible. This is because this first episode is designed more for someone who has no prior experience with the Bible, and needs some brief background before delving into the later Jewish history. Although I do have prior experience with the Bible myself, I actually enjoyed the first episode despite this; but I can see how someone else might not enjoy it, if they have prior experience with the Bible. If you already know about Abraham and Moses and David, feel free to skip this episode if you don't feel that you need this kind of review. I find the Biblical archaeology discussed here to be very interesting nonetheless; but I still did not learn much new material when watching it. In addition to Gentile historians, they also interview some Biblical archaeologists, who are less-than-friendly to the Bible. For example, they argue – and I paraphrase them only slightly – that the Hebrew Bible is “inconsistent” with the archaeological evidence, and is therefore “disproven” by science. Sadly, I found very little about which to agree with these archaeologists, and took their arguments with something of a grain of salt. Nevertheless, I don't object to their being interviewed here, because there is value in including other perspectives on these subjects. I have thus enjoyed hearing from these people, even when I have not agreed with them.

Alexander the Great, whose effect I will discuss next

The second episode talks about the Jewish interactions with Greek kings and philosophers

The second episode spends some time on the tradition of Bible reading groups in Judaism, which was important in a society that was mostly illiterate – and was not unusual in this respect, by the standards of that time. When the empire of Alexander the Great spread throughout much of the Middle East, Greek culture and philosophy also spread in his wake. For many Jews, the new Greek philosophy seemed more appealing than their ancestral religion; and some at this time abandoned their Jewish heritage because of it. Others mixed the Greek philosophy into their native religion in various ways, with both good and bad results. Jewish philosophy would never be the same after the influence of the Greeks, and the legacy of this intermingling is still debated to this day. I will leave it to the Jews to debate the merits of incorporating Greek philosophy into their faith. (It is, after all, their decision.) Suffice it to say here that the Greeks had much influence at this time, and that this documentary notes this influence in its second episode. Another topic covered in the second episode is how the Greek king, Antiochus the Madman, made war against their religion. For a time, he forbade the practice of Judaism, with disastrous results. The result was the Maccabee uprising, where the Jews revolted against Greek (technically Macedonian) rule to secure their rights to worship as they pleased. The Maccabees eventually succeeded in kicking out the Greeks permanently in 160 BCE, and established the last independent Jewish kingdom in the process.

Tomb of the Maccabees

The third episode talks about the Roman occupation, through the destruction of the temple

The third episode begins a long discussion of the Roman effects on Jewish history, which extends into two episodes. In 63 BCE, the Romans invaded Judea, and began a long occupation that was much resented by the Jews. This documentary notes the birth of the new Christian faith in the first century CE. They describe it as being a “Jewish faith” at first; and for this early period, this description is probably accurate. The Jewish scholars interviewed here are very friendly to the Christians, and note the common ground between the two religions with pride. But the interactions with the Roman pagans of this time were another matter. There were clashes within Judaism between factions like the Zealots and the Essenes, and the Zealots terrorized the Romans as much as they could. The Jewish Revolt of the later first century, now called the First Jewish-Roman War, was actually the largest revolt in the history of the Roman Empire. Thus, it was a big deal for the Roman history as much as it was for the Jewish history. During this revolt, there was a Siege of Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 CE, in which the Romans eventually overran the city. In this process, they also destroyed the Second Temple, which had been the center of Jewish life for more than five centuries. Jewish religious life had been centered around the temple, and its loss was a bitter blow to their faith. Before this time, the prevailing form of Judaism was actually known as “Second Temple Judaism.” With the destruction of the temple, a new form of Judaism was thus born. It was just called “Rabbinic Judaism,” named after the word “rabbi” (an admirably simple name). Eventually, this form of Judaism became the dominant form, and it still remains such today. (In Jewish culture, people speak of life before and after 70 CE, because this year is so important. It is easy to see why, after watching this series.)

Stones from the Second Temple

The fourth episode covers the Bar Kokhba Revolt against the Romans, and a few other things

The third episode's discussion of the Roman occupation continues into the fourth episode, which is also the final episode. I cannot now remember if they covered the Kitos War in 115-117 CE, but they definitely cover the Bar Kokhba Revolt from 132-136 CE in this episode. In the Bar Kokhba Revolt, the Jews succeeded in kicking out the Romans for a time. Unfortunately for them, the Romans returned soon after with a vengeance, and killed nearly 600,000 Jews. The Jewish scholars interviewed here compare this to the twentieth-century Holocaust, which is no small comparison when offered by someone of their faith and historical background. The Romans changed the name of Judea to “Palestine” at this time, and kicked the Jews out of Jerusalem. The other part of this last episode covers the writing of the Mishnah around 200 CE, which is the first of the Talmuds. (They also briefly mention the Gemara, which was written around 500 CE, some three centuries later.) When the Christians came to power in Rome under Emperor Constantine, there was an unfortunate streak of Antisemitism in some of their policies for a time, and the documentary covers this as well. The last episode also covers the more positive legacy of the Jewish people, and their effects upon the Western world in general. This is the note that the documentary ends on, and it is a good note.

Entrance to a cave used by the Bar Kokhba rebels

Conclusion: This truly is “The Saga of the Israelites” (at least through the Roman period)

So if you go into the documentary without expecting its title to be (completely) accurate, you will learn much about Jewish history. In some ways, this is a better focus than the “Kingdom of David” would have been; since it gives broader insights into Jewish history than this would have given. This really is “The Saga of the Israelites” (at least through the Roman period), and it has much of value for the Gentiles as well as the Jews. As someone who is not Jewish myself, I learned a lot about contemporary Judaism by studying this program; and even learned something about my own Christian religion in the process. But the greatest insights gained were into the Jewish people, and their unique contributions to world history.

“Come, and let us join ourselves to the LORD in a perpetual covenant that shall not be forgotten.”

- The Hebrew Bible, “The Book of the Prophet Jeremiah,” Chapter 50, Verse 5 (as translated by the King James Version of the Bible)

DVD at Amazon

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Related titles by PBS Empires:

Reflections on learning about history of Ancient Israel

Reflections on learning about history of the Ancient Near East

Reflections on learning about history of Ancient Egypt