The Promised Land Episode 4: Recap & Review
- Kevin Keating
- Oct 15
- 5 min read
In Episode 4 of The Promised Land we see the aftermath of Aaron’s disastrous decision to create a Golden Calf (Exodus 32), the transformation of Moses into a shining figure (Exodus 34:29-35), the collection of an offering, and the call of Oholiab and Bezalel to construct the Tabernacle (Exodus 25:1-9, Exodus 31:1-11, Exodus 36:1-7). We also get a fictional sideplot with Miriam, Zipporah, and Chisisi in the Tent for Women. Below I’ll give a brief summary of the episode and evaluate it as a Bible adaptation and a comedy.
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Summary of The Promised Land Episode 4 “Offering”
The Promised Land Episode 4 Cold Open: Moses’ Veil
Episode 4 opens with Moses returning (once again) from meeting with God, now surrounded by a shining aura that frightens the people. As in Scripture (Exodus 34:29-35), the problem is solved by covering Moses’ face with a veil. Moses insists that he like the veil because it allows for greater anonymity, not realizing how it actually makes his identity even more obvious.
Moses, Aaron, & Bezalel in The Promised Land Episode 4
Having witnessed the misguided efforts of the people to connect with God through a false idol, God directs Moses to collect an offering to construct a Tabernacle, the medium through which God desires to connect with his people. Moses announces to Oho and Bezalel that God wants them to lead the artisans constructing the Tabernacle (Exodus 36:1-7). To Moses’ surprise, however, Bezalel says no.
While Moses sets out to convince Bezalel to take up the job God called him to do, he has Aaron oversee the offering. Having nominally forgiven his brother for his disastrous failure in Episode 3, Moses demands for Aaron to make no more mistakes ever again, all while harassing him with a constant barrage of passive aggressive comments related to his failure. Burdened with guilt and shame, Aaron turns and puts a similar pressure on Joshua, whom he assigns to collect the actual materials.
At first Moses assumes that Bezalel’s refusal to work on the Tabernacle is due to a miscommunication or misunderstanding. Eventually, he discovers that Bezalel participated in the actual casting of the Golden Calf and is consumed by guilt and shame. Approaching Bezalel tenderly, Moses is able to extend forgiveness and encourage him to not let his past failure get in the way of what God has called him to do. Unfortunately, Moses remains blind to how he has failed to extend the same level of grace and forgiveness to his own brother.
Joshua & Caleb in The Promised Land Episode 4
Under orders from Aaron, Joshua recruits Caleb to help him collect the gold and silver needed to construct the furnishings. Having plundered the Egyptians, the Israelites have an abundance of precious metals and so soon the two are soon inundated with far more material than they even need. As usual, Caleb doesn’t take his work too seriously and plays around with all the riches. Joshua, on the other hand, is under immense pressure from Aaron and soon grows impatient with his cheeky helper. Recognizing the strain Joshua is under, Caleb eventually sets out to be more helpful, but not without warning his friend that he is taking his work too seriously.
Miriam, Zipporah, & Chisisi in The Promised Land Episode 4
In order for the Tabernacle to be built, an extensive amount of yarn is needed, and so Miriam gathers the women in their new tent to spin yarn and chat. To her chagrin, their conversation is soon hijacked when Chisisi appears and begins spouting off romantic advice and (fake) stories about his (made-up) deceased wife. But all of this storytelling about his fake family plants in Chisisi a desire to see how things are going back home with his real family and friends.
Review of The Promised Land Episode 4 (“Offering”)
In discussing The Promised Land, I often focus on the tension between biblical adaptation and comedy, but there’s another tension that the show has to navigate. Some comedies are almost pure humor and goofy antics. In a show like Seinfeld, the characters rarely learn or grow or deal seriously with serious issues. Other comedies are more sincere. In a show like Ted Lasso, we’re just as invested in the moral transformation of the characters as we are in the laughs. Most shows are somewhere on the spectrum between the cynical screwball humor of Seinfeld and the sincere comedy of Ted Lasso.
Generally, I’d say The Promised Land falls closer to Ted Lasso than to Seinfeld, but it moves along the spectrum. The first couple episodes lean slightly more into the screwball elements. Episode 4, on the other hand, feels like one of the most sincere episodes of the show so far. Although we get comic relief (particularly through the Chisisi-Miriam and Joshua-Caleb plots), the story of Moses’ pursuit of Bezalel (and his failure to pursue his own brother with the same grace) is surprisingly sincere and deep. It’s a moving portrait of the dynamics of guilt, shame, and (un)forgiveness – but it doesn’t have quite as many laugh-out-loud moments as some of the earlier episodes. I don’t say that as a criticism. A show can’t be all things at all times, and it makes sense for the aftermath of the Golden Calf incident to be a little more sober. But if what you're looking for is just to laugh, this episode may not be your go-to.
Biblically-speaking, I continue to be impressed by the way that The Promised Land mines the source material for comedic and dramatic fuel. Readers of Exodus often tune out during its extensive descriptions of the items collected and used in the construction of the Tabernacle, but the show is able to find story potential and humor both in what the source material doesn’t mention (how would the relationship of Moses and Aaron have changed after such a colossal failure?) and in what it does mention (the Israelites gave so much! Collecting and sorting it all must have been a pain.).
The Promised Land continues to encourage viewers to revisit the original biblical texts with a closer eye and a bigger imagination. Though not without a few silly laughs, Episode 4 leans into the sincere side of comedy in order to tell a powerful story about shame and forgiveness that is infused with Gospel grace.
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