Judah Ben-Hur
| Judah Ben-Hur | |
|---|---|
| Ben Hur character | |
Charlton Heston as Judah Ben-Hur from Ben-Hur (1959)
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| First appearance | A Tale of the Christ (1880, novel) |
| Last appearance | Ben Hur (2016, film) |
| Created by | Lew Wallace |
| Portrayed by | |
| Voiced by | Charlton Heston (2003) |
| Information | |
| Aliases | Ben-Hur |
| Gender | Male |
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.
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." When Wallace first introduces his readers to Judah, he is described as a seventeen-year-old youth wearing garments of "fine white linen." Wallace chose the biblical name because it could be "easily spelled, printed, and pronounced."
Judah Ben-Hur is a Jewish prince of Jerusalem who is descended from a royal family of Judaea; son of Ithamar; enslaved by the Romans and freed by Quintus Arrius, a Roman warship commander, who also adopts Judah as his son. 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.Esther becomes his wife and the mother of his children.
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.
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. 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.
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