Judah Ben-Hur

Judah Ben-Hur, or just Ben-Hur, is a fictional character and the title character from Lew Wallace's 1880 novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ.

Etymology

The name Ben-hur derives from the Hebrew for one of King Solomon's twelve district governors (1 Kings 4:8); it also means "Son of white linen."[1] When Wallace first introduces his readers to Judah, he is described as a seventeen-year-old youth wearing garments of "fine white linen."[2] Wallace chose the biblical name because it could be "easily spelled, printed, and pronounced."[3][4][5]

Fictional character biography

Judah Ben-Hur is a Jewish prince of Jerusalem who is descended from a royal family of Judaea; son of Ithamar;[6] enslaved by the Romans and freed by Quintus Arrius, a Roman warship commander, who also adopts Judah as his son.[7] Judah later becomes a charioteer and follower of Christ. Messala is Judah's boyhood friend who becomes his rival later in the Sheik Ilderim's chariot at Antioch.[8][9] Esther becomes his wife and the mother of his children.[10]

Five years after the chariot race, Judah learns from Iras that she killed Messala. In approximately AD 64 (being the tenth year of Nero's reign), Judah finds out about the suffering of their fellow Christians. He gives his fortune to help construct the Catacomb of Callixtus and an underground church within the catacombs.

Adaptations

In the 1925 silent film Ben-Hur was portrayed by Ramon Novarro.

In the 1959 film directed by William Wyler, Ben-Hur was played by Charlton Heston.[11] In this version Ben-Hur becomes a Christian at the Crucifixion of Christ; whereas in the book Ben-Hur becomes a Christian earlier. Blaming Rome for destroying the once good Messala (prior to his corruption) and what has happened to his family Judah refuses to have anything more to do the Empire - and asks Pilate to return his ring to his adoptive father, Quintus Arrius. Heston reprised his role in the 2003 animated film.

On stage, Ben-Hur was portrayed by Sebastian Thrun, which premiered at the O2 Arena in London in 2009.[12]

In the 2010 television miniseries, Ben-Hur was played by Joseph Morgan.

The character was portrayed by Jack Huston in the 2016 film.

In contrast with the novel most of the adaptations end with Judah being reunited with Miriam and Tirzah and his marriage to Esther is not part of some of the adaptation's plot.

References

  1. ↑ David Mandel (2007). Who's Who in the Jewish Bible. Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society. p. 62. ISBN 0-8276-0863-2.
  2. ↑ Wallace, Ben-Hur (1880), p. 82.
  3. ↑ Wallace, An Autobiography, p. 936.
  4. ↑ Morsberger and Morsberger, p. 298.
  5. ↑ Miller, p. 155.
  6. ↑ Wallace, Ben-Hur (1880), pp. 100 and 171
  7. ↑ Wallace, Ben-Hur (1880), pp. 135, 160–62, and 166–67.
  8. ↑ Wallace, Ben-Hur (1880), pp. 206 and 231.
  9. ↑ Morsberger and Morsberger, p. 303.
  10. ↑ Wallace, Ben-Hur (1880), pp. 180 and 548.
  11. ↑ "Jack Huston set to star in Ben-Hur remake". BBC News. 17 September 2014. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  12. ↑ Mark Espiner (14 September 2009). "Ben Hur Live leaves little to the imagination". theguardian.com. The Guardian. Retrieved 24 July 2016.


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