Was Moses Jewish? Not On ABC (a new Moses, ethnically and religiously cleansed)

ChronWatch ^ | Saturday, April 15, 2006 | Jack Engelhard

[IrishMike]

In this ABC made-for-TV production of "The Ten Commandments" we have a new Moses, ethnically and religiously cleansed. As played by Dougray Scott, Moses has been homogenized, pasteurized, sanitized, and dry-cleaned so as not to offend any race, religion, or creed. This Moses is not Hebrew, and in fact he's not anything but multi-cultural. Along both parts of this series that ran Monday and Tuesday, April 10 and 11, the word "Hebrew" never came up, neither attached to him or to his people, yes, the Hebrews. The best this fat-free, low-calorie script could do was refer to Moses as a "slave" and later, as the "leader" of a "people."

What people? That, we do not know, and that we must not know for then it will be assumed that our heritage is (dear Lord!) Judeo/Christian. To let that word get out (if you ask the film-makers and ABC) would be a sin. So if you tuned in late and missed the promo hoopla, you would not know that this is a biblical event, but rather just another episode of "Survivor" or "LOST" or "The Amazing Race."

Also, in this drama, Pharaoh comes off better than Moses, really. Pharaoh is a nicer guy, or just as nice, to keep the storyline on an Equal Opportunity level so that nobody or everybody gets offended, equally, in case ABC has plans to distribute this in today's Egypt. (The gods of Al-Jazeera and the ACLU must be appeased.)

Jews (by the number Six Million and still counting in Israel itself), of course, know what it means to be religiously cleansed, and so do Christians, who dare not pray or display any piety outside of church and home. Any sign of Christianity (even during holy days) in schoolyards and courtyards--well, strictly forbidden.

[IrishMike]

Now that's an angle I never considered.

[yankeedame]

And Charlton Heston looked Jewish?
Charlton Heston was Moses.

Oh, I couldn't agree more! Just like Errol Flynn was Robin Hood!

[goldstategop]

Finally... a politically correct multi-cultural Moses! The Left has to get around to rewriting the Bible.

(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie. Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")

[WV Mountain Mama]

I complained about that to my husband during the first night! Everything was "my people, your people, slave", but never Hebrew. I also hated how they made Moses seem like a crazy man who heard voices in his head and then went running off into the mountains and other times he was a corny cheerleader. It was a pathetic.

[goldstategop]

The Israelites were a tribal confederation but its clear the other ten tribes were in the shadow of Judah and Levi. The Levites were the priestly class without a specific territory. In Jewish history, the northern tribes simply vanished. All that was left was the tribe of Judah and the royal dynasty, the House Of David. Eventually, the Judeans retrojected earlier Israelite history onto themselves and they became God's sole people. By the time of the Babylonian Exile, the Jews had thought of themselves as a nation instead of a collection of tribes and it has been so for them ever since.

(Denny Crane: "I Don't Want To Socialize With A Pinko Liberal Democrat Commie. Say What You Like About Republicans. We Stick To Our Convictions. Even When We Know We're Dead Wrong.")

[avile]

Egyptians enslaved their Jewish citizens . Americans purchased slaves from black African slaveowners.

[PleaseNoMore]

My kids and I watched ABC's "Ten Commandments". While it didn't come anywhere near the original, it wasn't so horribly bad and it was something clean for the kids. And, it did too mention Hebrew and Israel. The one thing I liked was thast this "Moses" seemed more "realistic" as in he showed his human"ness". But this movie, at the very beginning, did call the slaves Hebrews and Israelies from what I remember.

[avile]

Is this any different from all the films about Jesus where a waspy looking goy plays Jesus?
Hollywood for years tries to dejudaize the portrayal of the Jewish scriptures.

Asa matter of fact , the only Jewish actor in the original 10 commandments was Edward G. Robinson- playing Dathan-oy

[PleaseNoMore]

I agree. Dougray Scott did a great job.

[Guyin4Os]

The terms, "Jew" and "Jewish" were not used until shortly before the Babylonian Exile. The inhabitants of the land of Judah were called "Jews" by others around them. More specifically, they were called by the gentilic, "Yehudi." Calling ancestors of Jews, "Jews" is the retro-projection of a term that wasn't used until much later back into the past.

To call Moses a "Jew" would have been like calling Montezuma an "American," or like calling Nebuchadnezzar an "Iraqi."

[Sir Francis Dashwood]

I'm not sure if the term (Greek Ioudaioi, Latin Judaei) arises from Judah as a tribe or Judaea as a region (the earlier kingdom of Judah)...

Judah Maccabees. “The hammer.” Kicked the pagans out, slaughtered them like pigs and crushed their enablers like the cockroaches they were... We need a man like this...

[freepertoo]

Was this as bad as that hideous movie done about Jesus a few years ago? I was so horrified by THAT that I ranted for days to anyone within earshot. It still makes me shudder!!!

[Mike Darancette]

We, as a family, have been watching the 1956 version of The 10 Commandments. The new version was absolutely dreadful, colorless and clueless. The suggestion that the parting of the Red Sea was volcanic in nature was ridiculous.

[Jonah Hex]

Charlton Heston was Moses.

Ask God

Who sounds amazingly like Charlton Heston.

;-)

[Chi-townChief]

Does Paul Newman?

[newcats]

And Edward G. Robinson was an Egyptian.....

[I still care]

Noah's ark. That was the worst. I like the part where Lot led the water pirates to attack Noah.

Nothing like a little broadcast authenticity...

[dangus]

I have a bottle of Israeli beer... named He-Brew!

[Verginius Rufus]

In the New Testament Anna is identified as the daughter of Phanuel of the tribe of Asher (Luke 2:36) and St Paul refers to himself as a member of the tribe of Benjamin (Philippians 3:5). In Acts 21:39 and 22:3 Luke has Paul introduce himself as a Jew.

I don't think there is any passage in Paul's own writings where he says "I am a Jew"--instead he calls himself an Israelite or a Hebrew.

[dangus]

You are correct. The term "Jewish" is appropriate only after the division of the Davidic empire following Solomon's rule. The Southern kingdom became known as Judea, because the tribe of Judah was the largest and most politically dominant tribe, and the capital city, Jerusalem, was in the lands of the tribe of Judah. (I think the tribe of Benjamin was also in Judea, IIRC)

The Northern kingdom was composed of ten tribes' lands. Of course, there were many people in Judea descended from the other tribes, particularly that of Aaron, since the temple was in Judea.