Shorter Bible Plays — Edition Insights

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In Category - Fantasy Juvenile Worlds

Authors: Benton, Rita, 1881- Digital Source: Project Gutenberg Gutenberg Release Year: 2014 First Publication Year: Not confirmed

Key Word: Bible plays Target Reader: Readers of public-domain and historical texts

Book Edition: Project Gutenberg digital edition Book Language: en

Edition facts

Words 21,501

Reading time 94 min

Text sections 5

Shorter Bible Plays — Edition Insights can be approached with a clearer sense of reading commitment from its source measurements: 21,501 words, 1 hr 34 min estimated reading time, and 5 detected text sections.

The text analysis averages about 11.6 words per sentence, while the detected sections provide another way to judge how the source is divided.

Project Gutenberg metadata also associates the work with “Bible plays,” connecting these edition facts with the source record’s subject description.

Source: Project Gutenberg record #46419

Rita Benton's 1922 collection of Bible plays for children uses direct biblical language and stage directions to dramatize stories from Noah to the Good Samaritan, with a focus on dialogue and simple staging.

Editorial Edition Score 4.7/5

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Description quality20 pts
Title & short description10 pts
Source metadata20 pts
Text length15 pts
Chapters / structure15 pts
EPUB file integrity20 pts

Total of 100 points, scaled to a 2.5-5.0 range. Editions with an empty description or a missing EPUB file are not scored.

Edition quality

File: pg46419

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The Abingdon Religious Education Texts David G. Downey, General Editor GEORGE HERBERT BETTS, Associate Editor

THE ABINGDON PRESS NEW YORK CINCINNATI

The right to produce these plays for religious and educational purposes (without personal profit), is freely granted.

All professional acting rights and moving picture rights are fully protected by copyright, and any individual or company desiring to produce these plays for profit must make application to the author and pay a royalty as agreed upon.

Printed in the United States of America

TO MY MOTHER AND HER "SUNDAY" CHILDREN

Unto her little child, a mother saith: "The Lord is everywhere, so have no fear." The child is quieted to have her near. Like unto God a mother comforteth.

And for her little child a mother prays: "That he may love me much, but love God more!" But 'tis our mothers that we all adore; And for our mothers, give we God the praise.

For childhood clearer sees God's wondrous grace, Sees God's love shining in his mother's face.

Copyrighted, 1922, by Rita Benton

PAGE EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION 5 NOAH'S FLOOD 11 THE PROVING OF ABRAHAM 38 MOSES IN THE BULRUSHES 44 UP, UP FROM EGYPT TO THE PROMISED LAND 53 THE CALL OF SAMUEL 63 DAVID AND GOLIATH 74 THE JUDGMENT OF SOLOMON (Longer Version) 99 THE JUDGMENT OF SOLOMON (Shorter Version) 116 THE GOOD SAMARITAN 122 MANGER SERVICE 129

THE DAUGHTER OF PHARAOH _Frontispiece_

_Noah's Flood_ PAGE NOAH'S WIFE 10 A SON OF NOAH 15 WIFE OF NOAH'S SON 20 A SON OF NOAH 24 WIFE OF NOAH'S SON 26 THE ANIMALS LEAVE THE ARK 29 THE RAINBOW 32

_The Proving of Abraham_ ABRAHAM 37

_Moses in the Bulrushes_ MOSES IN THE BULRUSHES 43 THE DAUGHTER OF PHARAOH NAMES MOSES 49

_Up, Up From Egypt to the Promised Land_ A PAGE OF PHARAOH 52 THE CHILDREN OF ISRAEL HAIL THE PROMISED LAND 59

_The Call of Samuel_ THE CHILD SAMUEL WITH HIS PARENTS 62 THE PRIEST ELI REBUKES HIS DRUNKEN SONS 65

_David and Goliath_ DAVID 73 THE CHALLENGER FOR GOLIATH 93

_The Judgment of Solomon_ THE JUDGMENT OF SOLOMON (Longer Version) 98 THE CHILDREN (Shorter Version) 115

To the kindness of Edward D. Waters we are indebted for the use of many of these photographs.

EDITOR'S INTRODUCTION

Increasingly the church is coming again to use religious pageantry and plays for instruction and worship. In the earlier history of religion the dramatic expression of religious aspiration and feeling was almost universal. The dramatic impulse is deeply grounded in human nature, and may be made to appeal to the highest attributes of reverence and devotion.

Children should usually themselves be the actors and not mere spectators. In acting Bible stories they learn how intimately the past is linked to the present, and how the struggles of to-day after truth, courage, love, are like the struggles of the patriarchs and prophets. The stories become more vivid, their charm grows, as we study them in action--our own action. And when we have finished the production of a Bible play a portion of the most beautiful of all literature is ours forever.

In a portion of the plays they act out, the children should, under wise leadership, devise and prepare their own parts and lines. Along with these spontaneously planned representations, however, should come a fair proportion of carefully prepared simple artistic plays adapted to the age and understanding of the child and calculated to teach the lesson desired. Besides teaching their own particular lessons, such plays will serve as a model and standard for the children in preparing their own presentations.

It is the purpose of the present volume to offer a collection of shorter Bible plays of high standard, great beauty, simplicity, and careful adaptation. All of these plays have been used many times over with groups of children in church schools, and their value thoroughly proved. The editors offer the book to the church public believing it will be a helpful factor in the field of religious education.

The costumes used in these Bible plays have been largely copied from Tissot's illustrations of the Bible.

A straight piece of bleached or unbleached muslin, seamed at the sides up to arm-hole, with a slit for the neck, has been found the simplest foundation costume.

Variations on this are:

A cloak of contrasting color, of the same pattern as the slip, but open in front.

Several yards of material of contrasting color, thrown over the head or shoulders, or draped.

Strips of cloth, four to six inches wide, sewed the length of the costume. Black strips against white make an effective costume.

For the head use a square of white cloth bound round with a thick, dark cord.

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Rita Benton's Shorter Bible Plays (1922) presents biblical narratives as dramatic scripts intended for religious and educational performance. The plays rely heavily on direct quotation from scripture, weaving passages such as Psalm 23 into the dialogue of David and Saul. Stage directions are minimal but functional, indicating entrances, exits, and basic actions like kneeling or reclining. The language is consistently formal and archaic, echoing the King James Version, which gives the plays a reverent tone. Benton includes both longer and shorter versions of the Judgment of Solomon, suggesting an awareness of different performance contexts. The collection opens with a dedicatory poem that frames maternal love as a reflection of divine care, establishing a gentle, instructive mood.

Biblical Language as Dramatic Dialogue

Benton's primary technique is the direct adaptation of biblical verses into spoken lines. In David and Goliath, David sings the entirety of Psalm 23 as a performance for King Saul, and Saul responds with lines like “Cursed be the day I was born” taken from Job. The dialogue often preserves the syntax and vocabulary of the King James Version, creating a consistent, elevated register. This approach means that the plays function almost as dramatic readings of scripture, with minimal interpolation. The editor's introduction notes that children acting these stories “learn how intimately the past is linked to the present,” suggesting that the language itself is meant to bridge temporal distance. However, Benton does occasionally insert connective phrases, such as “Peace, men!” or “Be not ashamed,” to smooth transitions. These small additions are the most visible evidence of the author's hand.

Pacing Through Stage Directions and Repetition

The stage directions in Shorter Bible Plays are sparse but strategically placed to control rhythm. In the excerpt from David and Goliath, directions like “Sound of trumpets to the left” and “Shouting from the left” create a sense of offstage action and urgency. Characters run in and out, messengers blow horns, and the repeated phrase “News for the king!” builds tension. Benton also uses repetition within dialogue: Saul twice says “there is none to withstand them,” and the second messenger echoes the first. This mirroring slows the pace and emphasizes the threat. In contrast, the scene with David's singing is static, with Saul reclining and the action pausing for the psalm. The juxtaposition of frantic messenger scenes and quiet musical interludes gives the play a varied tempo that would be effective in performance.

Characterization Through Speech Patterns

Benton differentiates characters primarily through their speech. King Saul speaks in exclamations and rhetorical questions (“Cursed be the day I was born!”), conveying his distress and volatility. David, by contrast, uses the measured, poetic language of the psalms, even in his spoken lines: “My father bade me seek thee with this loaf, / And flask of wine.” The elder brother Eliab speaks in accusatory, prose-like sentences (“What do you here? And why art thou come down?”), which contrasts with David's lyrical responses. The messengers use short, urgent phrases (“News! News for the king!”) that mark them as functional rather than individual. These patterns are consistent across the plays, suggesting that Benton relied on biblical archetypes rather than developing original personalities. The result is a cast that feels familiar but not flat, with each voice serving the story's moral and dramatic needs.

Readers approaching Shorter Bible Plays should attend to the interplay between scriptural quotation and original stage directions. The plays are designed for performance by children, and the language rewards reading aloud. Notice how Benton uses repetition and variation to create dramatic tension within the constraints of biblical text. The collection offers a window into early twentieth-century religious education, where drama was seen as a tool for moral instruction. For those interested in adaptation, these plays demonstrate a method of transforming narrative into dialogue while preserving the source's cadence and authority.

I remember how Shorter Bible Plays unfolds its ancient stories through nothing but voices — spare, direct, trusting the words to carry the whole stage. That quiet faith in dialogue reminds me of another patience, the one in The Two Noble Kinsmen — Edition Insights, where two friends also speak their way toward a bond neither can quite name. Both simply wait, and listen.