After Darren Aronofsky’s bible story re-imagining,
Noah , became one of the most divisive films of
2014 – ruffling the feathers of both religious
viewers and hardcore cinephiles alike – the
release of 20th Century Fox and director Ridley
Scott’s Moses movie, Exodus: Gods and
Kings , was destined to carry another wave of
controversy into theaters. While some filmgoers
have been intrigued by the idea of a swords and
sandals epic centered on one of the bible’s most
well-known leaders, others have balked at images
depicting a bearded Christian Bale wielding an
ornate sword – rather than a staff.
However, now that Exodus: Gods and Kings has
arrived in theaters, we finally know just how far
Scott has strayed from the Old Testament story.
For our official thoughts on the quality of the
filmmaker’s adaptation, read our Exodus: Gods
and Kings review or check back soon for
an Exodus episode of the Screen Rant
Underground podcast.
If you’ve already seen the movie (or do not mind
being SPOILED), read on for our breakdown of
this new interpretation of Exodus, as well as info
to help casual moviegoers
understand any differences between Gods and
Kings and its biblical source material.
__________________________________________
__________________________________________
Moses’ Backstory and Historical Context
The Relationship Between God and Moses
Ramses and the Hebrew People
God’s Influence on the Exodus
-
Moses’ Backstory and Historical
Context
Despite some significant changes to Moses’ adult
life, the basic setup for Exodus: Gods and Kings
remains the same. Fearing that the Hebrew
population was growing too fast, the Pharaoh
orders every male newborn of Israelite descent be
drowned in the Nile River. However, one Hebrew
woman, Jochebed, refuses and places her son,
Moishe, in a basket, floating him downstream –
so that an Egyptian might discover and spare the
child. Moses’ sister, Miriam (Tara Fitzgerald),
follows behind the basket and, upon its discovery
by Pharaoh’s daughter, Bithia (Hiam Abbass),
Miriam helps persuade the princess to raise the
child (and employ her as well as Jochebed to
care for him). In the scripture, Jochebed is
brought-in as a wet nurse, but the film does not
directly address this aspect. Moses’ birth mother
is only shown at the time of his banishment
(played by Anna Savva) – and her role in/
outside the Egyptian court is not specified.
As Moses becomes an adult, the lines between
scripture and moviemaking become a bit more
blurry. Scott’s film clearly depicts Moses as a
well-trained general and strategist in King Seti I’s
army – alongside his “brother” (read: adopted
cousin) Prince Ramses. In the scripture, there is
no direct mention of Moses serving in the
Egyptian army, training as a warrior, or even
carrying a sword – meaning that Scott definitely
took liberties with his battle-hardened version.
That said, given his role in the royal family, it is
plausible that the biblical Moses might have
fought in the Egyptian army – since kings,
princes, and other royalty often led the charge in
battle and, at the very least, were trained to
defend themselves against assassins, spies, and
other threats.
Still, without question, at the point that Moses
returns to Egypt following his banishment (more
on that in a minute), he was never depicted as an
armored warrior; instead, Moses was a quiet (but
firm) shepherd of the Hebrews – one who
delivered his people from bondage with a staff
(and God’s “wonders”/plagues), not an ornate
Egyptian sword.
As for how Moses comes to be banished from
Egypt, the scripture never pinpoints a specific
moment when his true heritage is revealed to him,
whereas the film inserts an entirely fabricated
intervention – specifically a meeting with Hebrew
slave, Nun (Ben Kingsley), who outright tells
Moses the backstory.
Nevertheless, the turning point, where he
elects to spill Egyptian blood in order to protect a
Hebrew, remains somewhat the same. In the
scripture, Moses kills and hides an Egyptian
guard that was mercilessly beating a slave – only
to find out that other Hebrews had witnessed the
murder. As word spreads of his actions, Moses
runs away from Egypt – and King Seti “ sought to
kill him“.
Exodus 2:11-14: One day, after Moses had grown
up, he went out to his people and saw their
forced labor. He saw an Egyptian beating a
Hebrew, one of his kinsfolk. He looked this way
and that, and seeing no one he killed the Egyptian
and hid him in the sand. When he went out the
next day, he saw two Hebrews fighting; and he
said to the one who was in the wrong, “Why do
you strike your fellow Hebrew?” He answered,
“Who made you a ruler and judge over us? Do you
mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?” Then
Moses was afraid and thought, “Surely the thing
is known.”
In the film, Moses kills (but does not bother to
hide) two Egyptian guards that were mercilessly
beating a Hebrew, but returns to Egypt anyway,
hoping that his conversation with Nun (and
rumors of his true heritage) never resurface.
Unfortunately for Moses, a pair of spies overheard
the meeting with Nun and report back to the
corrupt Viceroy Hegep of Pithom (a character
that does not appear at all in Hebrew scripture).
Following the death of King Seti I, Hegep spreads
rumor of Moses’ Hebrew parentage to Ramses in
the hopes of earning favor with the new king.
Reluctant to cast his “brother” out, and with no
proof to outright validate the Viceroy’s claims,
Ramses tests Moses’ allegiance by threatening to
amputate Miriam’s arm.
When Miriam refuses to come clean, Moses
intervenes and the Pharaoh banishes both Moses
as well as Miriam to uncertain death outside the
walls of Memphis (the Egyptian capital). Knowing
that his mother, Queen Tuya (Sigourney Weaver)
wants Moses killed, Ramses hides a sword in his
brother’s pack – to protect him in the desert from
hired assassins.
-
NEXT PAGE: God and Moses
« 1 2 3 4 »
Get Our Free Email Alerts On The Topics And
Author Of This Article:
TAGS: Exodus, Exodus Gods And Kings
No comments:
Post a Comment