Moses Series Hits Top 10 on Netflix: How a World-Changing Revolution Started with a Nursing Mom

A three-part docuseries about the Old Testament figure Moses has landed among Netflix's top 10 most popular series. 

"Testament: The Story of Moses" debuted on the streaming platform in March as the No. 1 show and since then, the gripping docudrama and expert interviews have captivated viewers.

The three-part series is narrated by Charles Dance and "chronicles Moses' remarkable life as a prince, prophet and more with insights from theologians and historians."

"I think of 'Prince of Egypt' or 'Ten Commandments,' and those are all great films, but it seems like Moses is almost presented as superhuman," Kelly McPherson, executive producer of the series, told the Christian Post. 

"We liked the fact that he was a person with flaws; he had to overcome a lot and what was, by many accounts, a tragic childhood. We liked making him more human. He does things that are superheroic, yes, but there was a side of him that was very, very human and very, very flawed at the same time," she continued. 

Rabbi Maurice Harris, one of the Jewish commentators in the series and the author of "Moses: A Stranger Among Us," thinks it is Moses' humanity that is resonating with viewers.

"This is one of the better examples of this kind of Bible story brought to the big screen," he told The Jewish Telegraphic Agency. "And I also think maybe it's got enough that's surprising in it for viewers coming from different backgrounds to sort of keep people engaged."

Harris adds that the diversity of the expert panel is also appealing to viewers. 

"Within 15 minutes, you're confronted with the fact that you're hearing from Muslims and Jews and Christians and from women and men," Harris said. "And if you're somebody who comes from a 'small-c' highly conservative religious background that is sort of committed to interpreting the Bible very literally, you're confronted with the fact that you've got some conservative and liberal members of these three traditions who are also responding. And my guess is that that's probably helping expand the audience."

While most reviews of the series have been positive, others have criticized it for its "creative liberties" and "glossing over" different presentations of Moses in Christianity, Judaism, and Islam. 

No matter the arguments, viewers do not deny that the series has them thinking differently about a servant of God who led millions of Jews out of captivity and is widely credited with recording the first books of the Bible. 

"I love the fact that this story begins with this one nursing woman and her infant," said Celene Ibrahim, a scholar of Islamic studies who has taught religious studies at Hebrew College and is also featured in the series. 

"How likely in our conception do we think that a revolution is going to start with a nursing mother," she added. 

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