Genesis presents Dinah as the daughter of Jacob and Leah, and the sister of themen who would become the twelve tribes of Israel, including the famous Josephof the “coat of many colors.” She was the lone daughter in a family with twelvebrothers and four mothers.

Dinah is briefly mentioned in Genesis (see chapter 34), buther story ends abruptly, as the point of the Genesis text is to answer “How didthe twelve tribes come to be?” and not “Who were all the children of Jacob?” Thefact that Dinah is even mentioned, then, is actually a nod to women, as Moses chose to include an episode about her. 

Where the text falls silent, Anita Diamant picks itup and imagines where Dinah’s story might lead.

The biblical account tells readers that Dinah was raped, butThe Red Tent has a different take on that narrative. In fact, Anita Diamantportrays all of the women in this series with more agency than the biblicaltext gives them, so you’ll find no victims here, even if the text says theywere treated unjustly. And the women are shown to have completely harmoniousrelationships rather than having any infighting (as the text suggests—as domost people with knowledge of polygamous families). Those who can overlook this detail, will find a powerful story about forgiveness and an interestingexcursion into how each person’s point of view on events might differ. 

A few warnings: As with the biblical text, this story is R-rated, so expect somenudity. Also, try to overlook that Joseph’s character looks about as Semitic asOwen Wilson. And finally, if you can suspend disbelief and expect the story to differ from the biblical text, you will get more out of it. That is not to say the biblical text is unimportant. But rather, this show is an exercise in how points of view can differ. This story takes place in Dinah's point of view, and in a number of cases, she is shown to have incorrect perceptions. 

I suggest reading Genesis 25–50 before watching the show. When I previewed itwith my husband, we found ourselves constantly curious about what the textactually said. So finally, we stopped and read it. Again, the point was not to be irritated that the film didn't stick to the biblical narrative. Rather, it helped us to better appreciate the Genesis story.

Typically when we read Genesis, believers make Jacob's children out to be Boy Scouts rather than murderous brutes. The Red Tent helps us imagine them more accurately. Remember, most of them sold their brother to slavery. One slept with his father's wife. And at least one is known to have paid a prostitute. 

I read the book, The Red Tent, which is better than the movie. In fact, both Diamant's text and the biblical text are better than the movie. I recommend both! But both my husband and I liked this mini-series, too.