The ending of Ridley Scott’s biblical epic Exodus: Gods and Kings sees Moses successfully leading the freed Jewish slaves toward their homeland of Canann. Christian Bale stars as the biblical prophet Moses who, after being born and raised as an Egyptian royal, is exiled and instructed by God to free the Hebrews of Egypt that the ruthless Pharaoh Ramses II (Joel Edgerton) has helped keep as slaves for centuries. Scott, who has admitted to being a self-proclaimed atheist, took many creative liberties in this retelling of the Book of Exodus from the Old Testament of the traditional Christian Bible.
Exodus: Gods and Kings pairs Bale’s Moses and Edgerton’s Ramses II as symbolic brothers although according to religious and historical accounts, Moses would have been more like Ramses’ uncle. The biblical depiction of Moses also depicted him as more of a lover than a fighter who wielded a staff rather than a golden Egyptian sword. It’s evident that Scott had little to no interest in recreating the biblical text, as there are several major differences between his action-melodrama hybrid blockbuster and the actual Book of Exodus, which is put on full display through the second and third acts of Exodus: Gods and Kings.
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What Happens In Exodus: Gods And Kings Ending
The ending of Exodus: Gods and Kings starts to unfold after a series of plagues that affect everyone in Egypt, from the slaves to Ramses and his royal family. Following the last and most vicious plague that involved the killing of every firstborn son, which resulted in Ramses II losing his only child, the horrified Pharaoh freed all the slaves, allowing them to return to their homeland of Canaan. The slaves rejoice as Moses leads them out of Egypt and is guided by the voice of God, which is apparently only accessible to him. Word comes around that Ramses has changed his mind and leads a fleet of soldiers to chase after Moses.
Moses leads his people through the mountains and ends up at the shores of the Red Sea, believing that he has failed and that he is a false prophet who has led all these people to their deaths. An apparent miracle occurs in which the Red Sea rescinds and Moses leads his people across the sea floor with Ramses in hot pursuit. A tsunami forms right as Ramses and his fleet arrive, and the crashing waves destroy his army. Moses reunites with his family, writes the Ten Commandments on stone tablets, and delivers them in the Ark of the Covenant along with his people to Canaan.
Why Ramses Chases The Hebrews After Letting Them Leave Egypt
Ramses frees his slaves following the death of his firstborn and only son in Exodus: Gods and Kings, clearly horrified by the power of God which Moses had tried to warn him about. Almost as soon as he allows Moses to lead his newly freed slaves to Canaan, he reverts his decision and sends his entire army after them in a chase across the desert. After Ramses recovered from the initial shock of losing his son, he realized that without any slaves to worship him, he was unable to live like the God he believed himself to be, so he decided killing them was the best option.
How The Red Sea Is “Parted” In Exodus: Gods And Kings
Scott notably did not depict the traditional biblical concept of God parting the Red Sea in which a tunnel miraculously formed the divided the ocean in two, allowing Moses and the Hebrews to safely pass. Instead, Scott finds a more rational explanation based on natural events such as tornadoes and tsunamis that force the Red Sea to rescind rather than split in two. It’s unclear how Moses would have been able to actually cross through the Red Sea through Scott’s tsunami explanation, but it remains one of the biggest narrative deviations from the Old Testament in the movie.
God’s Final Message To Moses Explained
Moses’ God, who appears through an incarnation of a well-spoken young boy rather than a burning bush in Exodus: Gods and Kings, instructs and challenges Moses’ faith throughout the film. In the end, after Moses has brought the Jews to the village where his wife and son live, Moses inscribes the Ten Commandments on stone tablets according to God’s plan. God tells Moses that they will no longer be speaking once he writes the Ten Commandments, stating that a leader can falter but stone cannot. Moses understands and carries out God’s will.
Why Moses Is An Old Man When He Leads His People To Canaan
According to the Old Testament, Moses lived until he was 120 years old and wasn’t approached by God to free the slaves of Egypt until he was 80. Judging by how much Moses has aged by the end of Exodus: Gods and Kings, it’s clear that Scott was at least trying to tie in that detail in the final scene of the film as Moses leads the Ark of the Covenant and his people to Canaan. Logically, in the movie, there must have been decades between when Moses inscribed the Ten Commandments on the stone tablets and when he finally brought the Hebrews to Canaan.
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The Real Meaning of Exodus: Gods And Kings Ending
With all the creative liberties that were taken in the creation of Exodus: Gods and Kings, it’s difficult to determine who the intended audience was for this Ridley Scott epic. The numerous deviations from the original biblical text surely would have turned away devout religious followers and the thin screenwriting and lack of character development ultimately deliver a flat product, especially compared to the might of other historical epics of his such as Gladiator. In the end, the High Priestess’ prophecy comes true, Ramses is defeated, and Moses becomes the new leader of the former Egyptian slaves.
Exodus: Gods and Kings hits a lot of the major plot points while providing a rather sluggish and often forced method of getting there. Ramses reveals his true character and his insatiable lust for eternal power and dominion, racing towards Moses and almost a certain death as the Red Sea tsunami waves crash upon him. Nothing, not even the evidence of Moses’ God caused by the various plagues and the death of his son, could have led him to accept a changing of the guard as the ruler of Egypt. Moses had no choice but to faithfully follow God’s plan to defeat his reckless brother and ultimately create a better world for humanity.
Exodus: Gods and Kings
After fighting side by side with his brother Ramses II, Moses is exiled when it is discovered he is Jewish and not Egyptian. While the powerful Ramses II runs Egypt as the new Pharaoh and deals with several deadly plagues, Moses receives a message from God asking him to free 600,000 Israelites. Exodus: Gods and Kings is directed by Ridley Scott and stars Christian Bale as Moses and Joel Edgerton as Ramses.
- Release Date
- December 12, 2014
- Director
- Ridley Scott
- Cast
- Christian Bale , Ben Kingsley , Ben Mendelsohn , Aaron Paul , John Turturro , Joel Edgerton , Sigourney Weaver
- Runtime
- 150minutes
- Writers
- Steve Zaillian
- Budget
- $140–200 million
- Studio(s)
- 20th Century
- Distributor(s)
- 20th Century
