Prince of Egypt vs Exodus
Skylar Henderson
February 24, 2013
Old Testament
Exodus vs. Prince of Egypt
The story of Moses is one of the more widely known stories from the Old Testament. The story is found in the book of Exodus and details the life of the prophet Moses. The story of Moses has been the basis of several Hollywood movies. One of the movies, The Prince of Egypt, is a cartoon depiction of the story of Moses. While the movie is very entertaining and will captivate a child’s attention from the beginning, there are not very many accurate details from the Biblical story.
One of the first differences that can be spotted is the way that baby Moses is placed in the Nile River. Exodus 2:3 records that Moses’ mother placed him into a papyrus basket coated with tar and pitch and placed it among the reeds at the edge of the river. The movie shows Moses’ mother placing the baby in a basket and into the Nile River. The baby then goes over white water rapids, dodges boats, fishermen, crocodiles and hippos. That is pretty exciting for an infant!
The next difference that can be found is the portrayal of who found the baby in the basket. Exodus 2:5-6 tells that the Pharaoh’s daughter went down to the river bathe. She spotted the basket among the reeds and sent her attendants to fetch it to her. The Pharaoh’s daughter knew the baby was a Hebrew baby as soon as she opened the basket and saw the crying baby. Exodus 2:6 is the only place in the Bible that tells of an infant crying. In the movie version of the story, it is the Pharaoh’s wife that finds baby Moses in the basket. This change makes a dramatic change to the dynamics of the story later in the movie.
In the biblical story, Moses always knows that he is a Hebrew. He is nursed by his biological mother for several years for the Pharaoh’s daughter. Because his mother knows that he will not be with her for the entirety of his life, she pours the word of God into Moses from the moment she is hired by the
February 24, 2013
Old Testament
Exodus vs. Prince of Egypt
The story of Moses is one of the more widely known stories from the Old Testament. The story is found in the book of Exodus and details the life of the prophet Moses. The story of Moses has been the basis of several Hollywood movies. One of the movies, The Prince of Egypt, is a cartoon depiction of the story of Moses. While the movie is very entertaining and will captivate a child’s attention from the beginning, there are not very many accurate details from the Biblical story.
One of the first differences that can be spotted is the way that baby Moses is placed in the Nile River. Exodus 2:3 records that Moses’ mother placed him into a papyrus basket coated with tar and pitch and placed it among the reeds at the edge of the river. The movie shows Moses’ mother placing the baby in a basket and into the Nile River. The baby then goes over white water rapids, dodges boats, fishermen, crocodiles and hippos. That is pretty exciting for an infant!
The next difference that can be found is the portrayal of who found the baby in the basket. Exodus 2:5-6 tells that the Pharaoh’s daughter went down to the river bathe. She spotted the basket among the reeds and sent her attendants to fetch it to her. The Pharaoh’s daughter knew the baby was a Hebrew baby as soon as she opened the basket and saw the crying baby. Exodus 2:6 is the only place in the Bible that tells of an infant crying. In the movie version of the story, it is the Pharaoh’s wife that finds baby Moses in the basket. This change makes a dramatic change to the dynamics of the story later in the movie.
In the biblical story, Moses always knows that he is a Hebrew. He is nursed by his biological mother for several years for the Pharaoh’s daughter. Because his mother knows that he will not be with her for the entirety of his life, she pours the word of God into Moses from the moment she is hired by the
Cited: “The Prince of Egypt”; Movie, 1998. NIV Study Bible; Zondervan, 2002.