“As it has been written”: The Old Testament epics

In 1951, the breathless trailer to David and Bathsheba promised filmgoers a “Goliath of a motion picture” featuring unforgettable spectacles including: “The Instant Doom of Anyone Who Dared Touch the Ark of the Covenant!” “The Stoning of The Unfaithful Wife!” “The Ravishing Dance of the Heathen Temptress!” “The Heavens Open in Blinding Anger!” “The Raging Mob Demand ‘The Adulteress, Bathsheba!’” and “The Most Tempestuous and Forbidden of the World’s Great Love Stories!”1