Original subtitles

- [Narrator] The children of Israel,

driven by famine from the land of Canaan,

dwelt in Egypt where they grew and prospered.

Now the pharaoh of Egypt fearing their great numbers,

first enslaved them and then slew the first born

of their men children, but one child,

whose name was Moses, escaped death and by good chance

was brought up a prince of the land.

One day, in anger, he slew a brutish Egyptian officer

and at the same time, discovered his own true identity.

Lest he be punished for his deed, he fled into the desert,

coming at length to the encampment of Jethro,

where he married Zipporah and she bore him a son.

Now, one day, the Lord, God, spoke to him

out of a burning bush, ordering him to return to Egypt

to bear this word to the Pharaoh, let my people go.

But the Pharaoh would not heed him.

Instead, he increased the agonies of the Israelites,

who blamed Moses for their sufferings.

So the Angel of Death struck down the first born

of the Egyptians, including the Pharaoh's own son.

Relenting at last, the Pharaoh freed the Israelites.

They left Egypt to seek the land promised by the Lord.

But before long, the pharaoh, repenting of his weakness,

sought to bring them back into Egypt, back into slavery.

(somber orchestral music and humming)

(camel groaning)

- It's mine.

It's mine.

They stole it from me.

They took it.

It's mine.

(gasping)

It was mine.

- We cannot go on like this.

- Can't stop now.

This is not the time to reorganize.

- We shall be destroyed if we do not.

They've used up all their water.

They're stealing each others food.

We need discipline, police.

- No, police indeed.

That won't be our way.

We'll organize in a new way, from within.

- [Man] We? Who's we?

- I and a few others, young people, progressive people.

- Good word, progressive.

Progress means going forward, moving.

- Egypt belongs to our past, a past to be wiped out.

- Our past must never be wiped out.

If all others forget, even if Egypt forgets,

we must remember.

(guard yelling orders)

- A minimum of violence, you understand.

We are not fighting a war.

They are no army.

Threats will be in order.

Hostages, especially high ones.

As for Moses,

- As for Moses, sir?

- No violence, no.

He is to be brought back,

stand trial,

a public execution.

- [Guard] The charge, magesty?

There must presumably be a formal arrest.

- You ask about charges?

All the charges in the world, blasphemy,

disaffection, treason, murder.

Oh yes,

yes.

Very much murder.

(crying baby)

- You hear nothing?

- Nothing unusual.

- Pharaoh must know I can hear him.

- Pharaoh?

- Clouds of dust!

Clouds of dust!

It's there.

- The dust you see is the dust of Egypt's chariots.

The masters have come to reclaim their property.

- What do we do?

What do we fight with?

- We do not fight the Egyptians.

And we do not go back into slavery.

We progress, Joshua.

We move on.

- I say it with respect.

But I think you're--

- I'm mad.

And our cause is mad.

And the Lord is mad.

(galloping)

(whinnying)

- They will never cease to be slaves.

Slaves to hunger and thirst at this moment, no doubt.

At least we can liberate them from that.

They cannot go forward, they can go sideways, like crabs,

but whatever they do, they will be certainly pincered by us.

- [Guard] At first light, sir?

- Oh yes, their humiliation must be clearly visible.

(sheep baaing)

- [Man] Oh, the sea, the sea!

(waves crashing)

- Miriam, come and speak to me.

Here.

Have you heard the orders for tomorrow?

- Yes.

We shall pass under the sea.

- Then there will be no escape.

We shall be trapped.

- No, we shall cross beneath.

- With no boats, no bridges, no fording places?

- Believe me, we shall cross over.

Come, let's go around the camp.

Tomorrow they will need all their courage.

- This doesn't seem much like freedom to me.

Orders, orders all the time.

Nothing but sand and beyond that, the sea.

There's only one way and that's back.

- The Egyptians know it.

They'll be here to take us back.

- But if we go back freely, it'll be different.

They're reasonable.

He's not reasonable.

Leading them to die, that's all it is.

The Egyptians could be generous

to those they knew were their friends.

No hard words, back to the old reasonable way.

Triumph of common sense.

- Deter.

- [Man] Look out!

(grunting)

- We were just protecting the treasury.

There are thieves among us.

(nervous laughing)

I know what you're thinking,

but we had no such intention.

We're all together in this.

We trust Moses and Aaron and you--

(grunting)

(waves crashing)

(wind blowing)

- The wind is blowing out of the dawn.

Oh Lord, if it be your will,

if it be your will.

(wind gusting)

(waves crashing)

- Wake up, wake up, hurry.

Look what's happening to the sea.

(crashing waves)

(zapping thunder)

(uplifting music)

♪ Oh Lord Israel

♪ Oh Lord Israel

♪ Oh Israel

♪ Oh Israel

♪ Oh Israel

♪ Israel

♪ Israel

♪ Oh Israel

♪ Oh Israel

(camels grumbling)

(man shouting)

(sheep baaing)

♪ Israel

(sloshing)

(baaing)

(camels grumbling)

(men shouting)

(sloshing)

♪ Israel

(dramatic suspenseful music)

(horses whinnying)

(galloping)

♪ Israel

♪ Israel

- Look, up there.

That thing in the sky.

Look, an animal.

♪ Israel

(galloping) (whinnying)

- The way is open.

Go, follow them.

Follow them.

- [Man] Onward!

(suspenseful orchestral music)

(whinnying) (galloping)

- [Man] Hurry up, the Egyptians are coming.

Come on, come on, come on.

- [Man] Over quickly.

Hurry up, hurry up.

Hurry, they'll catch us.

(suspenseful orchestral music)

- [Man] Here come the seas!

Turn back, Back!

(crashing waves)

(screaming)

(dramatic orchestral music)

- I will sing to the Lord,

for he has risen up in triumph.

(slow rhythmic beat)

♪ I will sing to the Lord

I will sing to the Lord.

I will sing to the Lord.

♪ I will sing to the Lord

♪ I will sing to the Lord

♪ I will sing to the Lord

♪ I will sing to the Lord

♪ I will sing to the Lord

The horse and his rider, he has hurled into the sea.

Into the sea, sea, sea, sea, sea, sea.

(laughing)

♪ I will sing to the Lord

The Lord is my refuge and my defense.

(laughing)

He has shown Himself.

My deliverer, my deliverer, deliverer, deliverer.

He's my God and I will glorify Him.

He's my father's God and I will exalt Him.

(joyful percussion music) (harmonious singing)

The Lord is a warrior.

The Lord is His name.

The chariots of fire and his army,

He has cast into the sea!

The flower of his officers are engulfed into the Red Sea!

(celebratory shouting) (singing)

(laughing)

The depths has covered them.

They sank to the bottom as a stone, as a stone,

as a stone, as a stone.

The depth has covered them.

They sank to the bottom as a stone, as a stone,

as a stone, as a stone.

They sank to the bottom as a stone, as a stone,

as a stone, as a stone.

They sank to the bottom as a stone, as a stone,

as a stone, as a stone.

They sank to the bottom as a stone!

(waves crashing)

- Moses.

(laughing)

We have come to express

our full confidence in your leadership, huh?

- You will always be confident, Dathan, when things go well.

- Oh, no, no.

Well or ill, we acknowledge you as our undoubted leader.

- I am not your leader.

The Lord is your leader.

I am only a servant.

Never forget the Lord.

(laughing)

- This is a time for rejoicing,

not for thinking of the Lord.

We ask you, in token of our amity and your awareness

of our confidence, to drink wine with us, your people.

- I have a weak head, Dathan,

but I'm grateful for your confidence.

(laughing)

Tomorrow will be a hard day, especially for some people.

You want to make it clear to your tribes

that the worst is still to come.

- Is it wise to speak to our people of that now?

Is it not enough to live for the day?

The day's march, a rested nightfall.

- Your task is to teach the enemies of freedom.

Freedom is a bitter gift.

- It is hard for a man to keep authority with such a slogan.

- Must we build on false promises?

To think of the day as dangerous,

if we eat and drink what the day brings,

we shall have nothing left for the morrow.

Day is for slaves, not for free men.

Let us begin by thinking of the week.

- How does one think about the week?

- The Lord make the Heaven's and the Earth in six days.

On the seventh day, he rested.

We shall follow the law.

The seventh day shall be called the Sabbath.

On that day we shall rest, think of the Lord,

drink in new strength in the Lord.

And this shall be a law.

This shall be a law and those who

break the law shall be punished.

- Punished?

How punished?

- We'll think of that later.

It's enough to speak now, the Lord's displeasure.

And believe me, there will come a day

when that will seem punishment enough.

(joyful singing) (upbeat music)

(quiet conversations) (sheep baaing)

- Look, look, they've got water!

- Ha ha, ha ha!

Get your own.

- Hey!

- [Man] Hey, come on, I'm thirsty too.

- [Man] Shut up, you stupid old man.

(grunting) (yelling)

- [Moses] Stop!

(groaning)

- Thank you, Moses.

Thank you, thank you.

- The old men wisely saved their water.

You unwisely used up yours and now you steal.

- It's the law.

It's the law that this desert of yours taught us.

The strong takes from the weak.

God makes them weak.

God makes us strong.

- Is a crocodile not stronger than a man?

Man is strong in a different way.

What a man has, he has through foresight

and prudence.

You shall not take from him what he has.

- What would you do, Moses?

Bring down another plague?

You'd do better to lead us all to water.

- I will lead you to water in time,

but now I tell you that you must not steal.

- No more than that?

- For the moment.

For now, think that you are displeasing the Lord

and that He could strike you if He wished.

The Lord would prefer you to be men, not crocodiles.

Now go.

(animated conversations)

- Do you know where we are?

- Tribes call it the wilderness of Shure.

Long month's march to Aline

- A long month.

And what is between here and Aline?

- Sand, Aaron, sand.

Sand and more sand.

(baaing)

- [Man] Water!

- [Together] Water! Water! Water!

(shouting)

- [Man] We can't drink this.

It's full of salt.

Go back.

Stop it!

Don't drink again.

We can't drink this! We can't!

- It's salt.

He said God would lead us to water.

He didn't say what kind of water.

- Yes, it's salt, it's not water.

We can't drink this.

Promised us, you promised us we would have water.

Give us water, not lies.

- Quiet!

Jude, Joseph!

- [Man] You said you knew this place

like the back of your hand.

- One can't always be exactly sure.

We strayed so far off the path, I knew I,

listen, I promise you--

- Promises!

It's all promises, isn't it?

Promise freedom.

Promise land.

Promise milk and honey.

We can do without the milk and honey.

(crowd yelling angrily)

(somber orchestral music) (humming)

- [Man Yelling In The Distance] I can't see them.

(somber music)

- We can't go on.

We can't go on.

- He's dying of thirst, of thirst.

He's thirsty.

We must find some water.

- There's no water. - [Woman] Have some water.

- There will be, soon.

- But he's dying.

Tell us why.

Why?

(calling after boy)

- It's true, we cannot go on.

Within a week, half of our people will be dead.

- Have faith for one more day.

- One day, yes.

What then?

And why are we following this road?

This is not the way to the land

you have promised our people.

Canaan is there, to the East.

- So are the Egyptians, Joshua and their allies.

- Is this why, if I'm permitted to ask,

you're taking us towards the mountains of the Sinai?

- How did you know we are going to the Sinai?

- I know how to read the stars.

- And my thoughts?

(somber orchestral music)

- [Man] Elim.

- [Moses] Yes, elim.

God is with us.

(falling water)

(joyful shouting)

- [Together] Elim!

Elim!

Elim!

Elim!

Elim!

(upbeat percussion music and flute)

(falling water)

(singing)

(birds chirping)

(giggling)

- You my brother,

I don't know you.

But the woman, I,

are you not the wife of Eliphans?

Your husband is old.

Youth is drawn to youth and the lusty pleasures of the bed,

I know, but it's a sinful bed.

- There's no sin in pleasure.

- Or should there be any pleasure in sin?

If your husband knew about this, he could send you away.

The children would grieve.

- He knows nothing.

We've been careful.

- Not careful enough to prevent me from knowing

and if I know, others know.

Listen.

You, we, are trying to build a nation.

The families are the bricks of that nation.

If the families crack, the nation will fall.

- We're a very small crack in a very small brick.

- Never think of yourself as an exception.

Only God is above the law.

It's a bad business.

- What will you do?

- Nothing.

I've done all I can do.

- [Woman] Does he have a wife?

- Who knows?

He's a strange one.

Perhaps he's beyond passion.

Come.

- No, I thought I heard one of the children.

- You couldn't have.

(boisterous play)

- Why do we have to move?

Why not stay here?

Here is everything.

- Because the promised land is elsewhere.

- You always say that.

Will we live to see it?

- You and I?

I don't know.

The children, they'll see it.

- We could settle here so happy.

Pastures, water,

the whole place laughs and rings with water.

- Yes, but we have to have something more than an oasis.

- Have to?

- Yes, have to.

Call it the destiny of our nation.

- It's a big word.

- Eliseba, I don't believe there's anything after this life,

not for you, me, the others.

We die alone and we go into the dark alone,

but all of us together, made into a nation,

that's different.

- You call us a nation?

- Not yet.

It's still being made.

It has to be kneaded like dough.

But when it is made, when it lives and breathes,

and draws its life from the laws that sustain it,

then, they'll be no end to it.

- There have been other nations.

They died.

Isn't Egypt dying?

- We shall not die.

Oh yes, men and women will die,

but Israel will live forever

because for the first time, the nation will not be greater

than the smallest member of it.

- Did he tell you all this?

- Some of it.

Some of it I worked out for myself.

(laughing)

- Always the same.

No sooner do we unload than we have to load again.

There is for the donkey's backs.

Those on our backs and the heaviest load is Moses.

Moses, we got to this place by chance, by good luck

and then there may be more good luck and then there may not.

One thing we can be sure of, sand, thirst,

Moses pretending to know where he is,

pretending there's a God up there showing the way,

but there's no way, there's no God.

Sand, sand, and Moses.

- [Man] Hey, hey, hey, come on, come on.

(somber music)

- Good fish and meat and bread.

- And ash pots, onions, garlic and cake.

Why did you take us out of Egypt?

- Why couldn't you leave us alone?

- We were happy there.

At least we didn't starve.

- Will you never cease to complain?

You say you like bread.

You like meat.

- Yes.

- Well,

you shall have meat to eat in the evening

and in the morning,

bread to the full.

You have the Lord's promise that this is so.

Now go away.

Go!

I'm sick of you.

But God help me, you're all I have.

(sighing)

(sheep baaing)

(birds chirping)

- [Man] Quail!

Quail!

- [Together] Quail.

Get the nets.

Bring the nets.

We can get 'em.

(shouting excitedly)

(slow percussion music)

(suspenseful orchestral music)

(chirping) (flapping)

(excited yelling)

(slow orchestral music with a percussion beat)

(animated conversation)

(laughing)

- Thank you.

- You take credit for a miracle where there is none.

- I never take credit for miracles.

- You told me about the migration of the quails

when we were back in Egypt.

And I was grabbing the dirt off you.

- They rest at night, here in the scrublands.

They're easily caught, hardly a miracle.

A miracle, I suppose is,

something you need happening, when you need it.

- Will they get their bread?

- Bread?

- You said,

in the morning.

- So I did.

But I didn't say which morning.

(laughing)

Have you heard of mana?

- Bread from Heaven?

- Bread from Heaven.

It's the resin that falls from the Tamara's trees.

A fine flake thing, fine as horfrost,

white as coriander seed and the taste

is the taste of wafers made with honey.

- A poem?

- A song.

Sung by my father-in-law, Jethro.

He taught it to me and I sang it to Zipporah.

I sang it above the body of Zipporah.

- How soon shall I meet Zipporah?

- Not too soon.

There will be some more days of grumbling,

then a few short lived days of joy,

and God help us, there will be a time of bloodshed.

(peaceful orchestral music)

(joyful yelling)

- [Child] What is it?

- It tastes like bread.

- [Moses] Each shall gather according to his need.

He who gathers much shall have no more.

He who gathers little shall have no less.

Gather only as much as you can eat.

And the day before Saturday, the Sabbath,

we shall gather twice as much.

For on the seventh day,

you will be none of the Lord's bread.

(wind blowing)

(sheep baaing)

- What are you doing?

You know the law of the Sabbath.

- What law?

What Sabbath?

- The law has been clearly laid down.

The Sabbath is for rest.

No journeying, no work.

- We weren't working.

We were gathering food.

- There's no difference, gather food,

sheer sheep, pitch a tent, it's all work.

- [Man] It's stupid.

- May I say something?

- Oh yes, please.

- If God felt the need to rest from his labors

on the seventh day,

who are we that we should think we're better than He is?

No, man is made not only for work,

but also to think and for thought,

there has to be leisure.

And that leisure must come regularly.

Totally.

- It's greed that led you into this.

You'll go hungry til tomorrow.

- He won't get too hungry.

Tomorrow starts at sunset, today.

(conversations) (sheep baaing)

(suspenseful orchestral music)

- [Narrator] Now, there were certain tribes of the desert

that saw the Israelites passing through the desert.

Their goods and cattle and camels and sheep.

Among these tribes were the Amalachites,

a fierce and warlike people that

dwelt in the caves of the rocks.

They moved with speed where they were skilled

in the taming of horses, and with speed,

they sought to drive the Israelites from their land

and to prey on their goods and their cattle.

(baaing)

(suspenseful dramatic orchestral music)

(angry yelling)

(screaming)

(screaming)

(baaing)

(flames crackling)

(crying)

- Mamma, dada.

Mama.

(sobbing)

(wind blowing)

- We're defenseless, we have no weapons,

only these retched things.

I always said it would come to this.

The road must be kept open.

- Excuse me.

I have something to suggest.

- What is your name?

- Coree.

- You experienced at war?

- No, but,

if I may suggest a simple strategy.

(crackling flames)

(sizzling)

(low suspenseful music)

(grunting)

- Now!

(grunting)

(whinnying)

(screaming)

(whinnying)

(coughing)

(upbeat music)

♪ Oh Israel, oh Israel

♪ Oh Israel

♪ Oh Israel

♪ Israel

♪ Israel

- We won, we won!

We beat them back!

- [Narrator] And thus did Moses gain the road

and lead the Israelites through the land of Sinai

to Mount Horeb, sacred to the Lord.

(celebratory music)

- [God voiceover] Say this to the people of Israel,

you will obey my voice and keep my covenant.

You shall be to me, a nation of holiness.

(screaming)

- How long will it be?

- The world took six days to make.

To make laws with the Israelites,

may take longer, a good deal longer.

- There are some who are saying it was trickery,

that he knew a strong wind would blow back the waters.

It's happened before they say.

Have you ever thought that your Moses may be mad?

(chanting) (percussion music)

(uplifting orchestral music) (humming)

♪ Israel

♪ Israel

♪ Israel

♪ Israel