The Bible's Buried Secrets
Archaeological detective story on the Hebrew Bible's origins.
Wikipedia / Wikimedia Commons
"The Bible's Buried Secrets" is a Nova documentary that premiered on PBS on November 18, 2008. According to its official website, the film uses recent archaeological findings from the Holy Land to investigate the origins of modern religion and the Hebrew Bible (the Old Testament). It addresses major questions in biblical studies, including the origins of the ancient Israelites, the authorship and timing of the Bible, and the emergence of monotheism—the foundation of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
The program presents positions widely accepted among mainstream archaeologists and historians, though it has drawn criticism from both literalist Christians and biblical minimalists. The documentary features assertions from archaeologists on several topics:
**On the Origins of Israel** Modern science—including archaeology, anthropology, biology, geology, chemistry, physics, and astronomy—has disproven a literal reading of the Genesis creation and flood stories, as well as the Tower of Babel narrative. No historical evidence exists for figures like Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Jacob, Esau, Joseph, or Moses, nor for the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah or the mass exodus from Egypt. Scholars believe a small group of Canaanite slaves may have escaped Egypt, but they were not Israelites; on their return to Canaan, they passed through Midian, where they might have been influenced by stories of the Shasu god Yhw. The conquest of Canaan described in the Book of Joshua is not supported by archaeology—most of the 31 sites Joshua supposedly conquered show no signs of warfare. William G. Dever states, "Joshua really didn't fight the Battle of Jericho." Instead, the Israelites may have been Canaanites who moved into the highlands and formed a new identity. However, the events of the Israelite kingdom in Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles are considered largely historically accurate.
**On the Development of the Hebrew Bible** The Bible’s early books are traced to multiple authors writing over centuries (see Documentary hypothesis and Supplementary hypothesis). Books like Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua, Samuel, and Kings reached their current form during the Babylonian exile in the 6th century BCE.
**On the Development of Monotheism** Archaeological evidence shows that early Israelites were not exclusively monotheistic; before the Babylonian exile, th
- type
- Television documentary
- network
- PBS
- first_aired
- November 18, 2008
- series
- Nova
- subject
- Biblical archaeology and history
- featured_scholars
- Gabriel Barkay, William G. Dever, Israel Finkelstein, Amihai Mazar, and others
Lore & Background
The program surveys evidence and takes positions that are mainstream among archaeologists and historians, though it raises objections from both Christians who believe the Bible as literal or historical truth and minimalists who assert the Bible has no historical validation. It airs archaeologists' assertions that modern science has debunked literal interpretations of the Genesis creation, flood, and Tower of Babel narratives, and that there is no historical evidence for figures such as Abraham, Moses, or the Exodus as described.
Reader's Guide
The program's significance lies in its synthesis of over a century of biblical archaeology and scholarship into a two-hour documentary. It strikes a balance between old-fashioned biblical archaeology, which tried to prove the Bible's historicity, and extreme skepticism. The Biblical Archaeology Review praised it as a magnificent job. Conservative Judaism is fully accepting of the scholarship featured, and Catholic theologian Kenneth R. Himes noted the ideas are discussed at many Catholic universities. However, the conservative American Family Association petitioned Congress to cut PBS funding, and Apologetics Press and Bible and Spade magazine dismissed it as anti-Bible propaganda.
Did You Know?
- The program features archaeologists' assertions that the Israelites likely originated as Canaanites who migrated into the highlands, not as conquerors described in the Book of Joshua.
- According to the program, the early Israelites were polytheistic, worshiping Yahweh alongside a fertility goddess named Asherah before the Babylonian exile.
- The documentary includes the claim that the Bible's first books reached almost their present form during the Babylonian exile of the 6th century BCE.
- The Biblical Archaeology Review described the program as 'a magnificent job summarizing over a century of biblical archaeology and biblical scholarship in two hours.'
Frequently Asked Questions
What is 'The Bible's Buried Secrets'?
It is a Nova documentary episode that first aired on PBS on November 18, 2008, using recent Holy Land archaeological evidence to trace how the Hebrew Bible took shape and how the monotheistic traditions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam grew out of ancient Israel.
What major questions does the episode actually try to answer?
The film zeroes in on three big threads: where the ancient Israelites came from as a people, who composed the biblical texts and over what span of centuries, and how the transition from a polytheistic setting to strict monotheism happened.
Which scholars are featured in the documentary?
The episode draws on commentary from several well-known biblical archaeologists and historians, including Gabriel Barkay, William G. Dever, Israel Finkelstein, and Amihai Mazar, among others.
What is the episode's central thesis?
It lays out the mainstream archaeological and historical view that the Hebrew Bible was written, revised, and redacted across many generations rather than produced by a single ancient author, and that Israelite identity formed gradually within the land instead of arriving as a ready-made group from outside.
Where and when was 'The Bible's Buried Secrets' originally broadcast?
The one-hour documentary first aired on PBS as part of the long-running Nova science-and-history series on November 18, 2008.
More in Nova episodes 1-19
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