The Bible is the most popular book in the world and most of its stories and phrases are usually popular among many. The popular stories have been applied in references to everyday themes and everyday occurrences to help people understand their situations better and to motivate them. One of the stories of the Bible that has been increasingly applied in the modern world is the story of the Exodus and their conquest for Canaan. It has been applied in various movements such as the civil rights where Martin Luther King Jr. made several allusions that referred to the story. The story of Exodus and their conquest for Canaan is highly inspirational and has been used to show how people can attain freedom and liberation.
The Story of Exodus
The basis of the story of Exodus starts in Egypt about three thousand years ago. In the story, a group of immigrants from the land of Canaan, also known as Hebrews or the Children of Israel, had moved and resided in Egypt. However, they were strangers in the land and they had different customs and beliefs and they became easy targets of prejudice. Their encounters were one of slavery as they lived in a tyrannical Pharaoh. Throughout their slavery, they engaged in hard labor and their condition worsened. However, the story changes when the Israelites decide to take their journey moving away from Egypt. Their movement is a story that features a journey from slavery to freedom. Various encounters where people go through oppression and move towards freedom is a clear allusion to the story of Exodus. One of the films that has been used to motivate people this way is titled “Exodus” (1960). It tells the story of how someone from the Jewish military group tried to transport 600 Jewish refugees from a dangerous voyage. The film has several references to the story of the Bible where the Israelites were moving from the Egyptian land.
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The inspirational nature of the story means that it can be easily referred to as an item for liberation. Apart from the Jews, the story of Exodus has inspired many people throughout history. When people go through oppression, their oppressors are usually people in power that would resist any efforts for slavery. People thus need a great deal of inspiration so that they can be able to get out of their oppression. In such a scenario, the story of Exodus is used to inspire people towards freedom and liberation.
The revolution that also took place a political revolution that relates to many people today. When Moses decided to take the children of Israel out of Egypt, he did not do in privacy but it was an event that happened publicly and changed the course of history. The children of Israel were slaves in Egypt and their freedom meant that they would travel through the desert and move to promised land. There have been many political revolutions that have happened over the past few centuries and are still taking place today. Such political revolutions take place following similar events as seen in the exodus migration.
The Exodus narrative has a direct allusion to the history of America especially with the civil rights movement. The civil rights movement involved America moving from a period where they encountered segregation towards racial equality. The civil rights movement in itself has a direct reference to the images of Israelites as they moved from Egypt. When the Egyptians were told “let my people go” (Exodus 9:1), this was used to portray how Americans should move away from segregation. Selby (2008) specifically observes how the Martin Luther King, Jr. used the biblical story of Exodus in order to motivate African Americans in the struggle from racial oppression. King made his speeches based on the Exodus Narrative especially with the statement of the “The Promised Land”.
Exodus: Gods and Kings
The popularity of the Bible and specifically the story of Exodus makes it appealing to films and cinema today. The widespread knowledge and understanding of various biblical concepts and stories has made the different stories to become increasingly applied in modern Cinema. According to Aichele (2018), some of the movies in the twenty-first century that have references to the Bible are “Noah” and “Exodus: Gods and Kings”. The film “Exodus: Gods and Kings” was released in the year 2014 and shows the story of Moses and Ramses being raised together as brothers. Ramses becomes pharaoh and Moses discovers his Hebrew parentage and is sentenced to the desert. God then gives Moses the mission of freeing the Israelites from the slavery that they were going through in Egypt. Moses then demands to have the people of Israelites go but the arrogant ruler objects this. While the film does not portray an accurate depiction of the Bible, it makes use of several references based on the Bible. The movie is thus an example of how the popularity of Bible stories makes it become increasingly applied in modern cinema and film.
In conclusion, the Exodus narrative and their movement to Canaan has been used in modern times because of its narrative and inspirational nature. Movies that feature narratives where people move from oppression to a new land where they no longer face oppression feature this theme. Likewise, the Civil Rights Movement had several allusions to the Exodus Narrative through statements made by Martin Luther King Jr.
References
Aichele, G. (2018). “Film Theory and Biblical Studies” in Close Encounters between Bible and Film: An Interdisciplinary Engagement eds. by Laura Copier and Caroline Vander Stichele. The Catholic Biblical Quarterly , 80 (1), 180-181.
“Exodus: Gods and Kings”. (2014). Retrieved from https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1528100/
“Exodus”. (1960). Retrieved from https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053804/ .
Selby, G. S. (2008). Martin Luther King and the rhetoric of freedom: the Exodus narrative in America's struggle for civil rights. Baylor University Press.
