Season 1: Moses, the Murderer (Adapting Exodus)

We're never told how Moses discovers his Israelite ancestry and what that experience is like for him. This intriguing gap in his story practically begs to be filled by Bible Art and adaptations. Many storytellers have tied the moment of his self-discovery to the murder of the Egyptian oppressor.

Ephraim Moses Lilien, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

From a narrative standpoint, it makes sense that the sudden revelation of Moses' identity could lead him to murder. Even so, I find it much more probable that Moses knew about his ancestry from early in life. It's just as likely that a sense of identity crisis in Moses' young adulthood would have spurred him to a violent separation from his Egyptian adopted culture and toward his original Israelite heritage. I do my best to create a plausible scenario to motivate what he did below.

Dramatis Personae

• Pharaoh - King of Egypt, oppressor of Israel

• The Magician - Pharaoh's wiseman advisor; an Egyptian sorcerer

• The Task Master - The Egyptian in charge of the slave force

• The Prince - Pharaoh's son; the future Pharaoh during the Exodus

• Prince's Son - Grandson of Pharaoh; peer of Moses

• The Princess - Pharaoh's daughter; adopts Moses as her son

• Foreign Nation - an (invented) enemy of Egypt that is seeking to incite Israel to rebel

• Aaron & Miriam - Moses' siblings

• The Appeaser - the chief Israelite elder; collaborates with Egypt in order to maintain his own power

• The Rebel - an Israelite leader who wants to join the Foreign Nation & lead a rebellion against Egypt

• Hur - a young Israelite preacher

Notes on the Outline

• The three main columns correspond to the events/storyline of: 1) Pharaoh's Egyptian Court, 2) the Israelites, especially the Council of Elders, and 3) Moses

• The three main rows correspond to a general division of the episode into three acts. The precise order of events is indicated by how each event in the act is numbered. This order does not always proceed from left to right.

• Episode 6 only has 1 scene from the Israelite arc. The rest is divided between Moses and the Egyptians.