The Ten Commandments (1923)
Directed by Cecil B. DeMille
Theodore Roberts as Moses
Directed by Cecil B. DeMille
Theodore Roberts as Moses
The tablets created for DeMille’s 1923 production of The Ten Commandments (10C23) are unlike any tablets appearing in any other film or, for that matter in any works of art, save one.*
The fact that the famous “two tablets of stone” are shown as one tablet (albeit with two arches on top) could be explained by DeMille’s fascination with the works of French artist Gustave Doré (1832-1883). Doré may well be the most influential artist of biblical subjects, as his illustrations have been printed and reprinted and continue to grace some bibles published to this day. Doré’s images of the Ten Commandments consistently show them written in dark letters on one white tablet with two arches.
Rather than showing entire words, the 10C23 tablets deviate from the Doré model by reducing the text to characters representing the numerals one through ten. Where Doré chose to use shapes merely suggesting letters, 10C23 shows them as carefully constructed. However, the choice of script is unique, in that it is not Roman numerals or modern or ancient Hebrew letters, but in the style of Samaritan script dating from around the year 1219 C.E.
It is likely that the model for this script that which was found displayed in the same manner (vertically) in the Jewish Encyclopedia, which was not unlikely to be found in many public libraries across the U.S., including the Los Angeles Public Library. It may have been chosen over the square Hebrew script currently used by Jews around the world because it is more closely linked to ancient Hebrew. However, at the time of the film’s production, other scripts were known to be even more closely associated with the oldest known forms of Hebrew writing, yet were not selected for the 10C23 tablets.
It is not know if the choice was influenced by the fact that DeMille (and perhaps others on his team) was a member of the Freemasons, and a form of Samaritan script is sometimes used within the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry. As well, the tablets are described in some Masonic publications as white with dark (gold) letters. Or, it may be that the Samaritan script was selected purely for aesthetic reasons. Archival records have yet to be discovered that shed light on this particular selection.
*The 10C23 tablets were used as a model by artist Barry Moser for the tablets appearing in his illustrated Holy Bible (1999), the first Bible completely illustrated by one person since Gustave Doré's La Sainte Bible (1865). Mr. Moser has confessed his prior assumption that DeMille’s staff had chosen the script for the letters because they were more authentic. Consultation with at least two experts did not disabuse him of this notion.
The fact that the famous “two tablets of stone” are shown as one tablet (albeit with two arches on top) could be explained by DeMille’s fascination with the works of French artist Gustave Doré (1832-1883). Doré may well be the most influential artist of biblical subjects, as his illustrations have been printed and reprinted and continue to grace some bibles published to this day. Doré’s images of the Ten Commandments consistently show them written in dark letters on one white tablet with two arches.
Rather than showing entire words, the 10C23 tablets deviate from the Doré model by reducing the text to characters representing the numerals one through ten. Where Doré chose to use shapes merely suggesting letters, 10C23 shows them as carefully constructed. However, the choice of script is unique, in that it is not Roman numerals or modern or ancient Hebrew letters, but in the style of Samaritan script dating from around the year 1219 C.E.
It is likely that the model for this script that which was found displayed in the same manner (vertically) in the Jewish Encyclopedia, which was not unlikely to be found in many public libraries across the U.S., including the Los Angeles Public Library. It may have been chosen over the square Hebrew script currently used by Jews around the world because it is more closely linked to ancient Hebrew. However, at the time of the film’s production, other scripts were known to be even more closely associated with the oldest known forms of Hebrew writing, yet were not selected for the 10C23 tablets.
It is not know if the choice was influenced by the fact that DeMille (and perhaps others on his team) was a member of the Freemasons, and a form of Samaritan script is sometimes used within the Scottish Rite of Freemasonry. As well, the tablets are described in some Masonic publications as white with dark (gold) letters. Or, it may be that the Samaritan script was selected purely for aesthetic reasons. Archival records have yet to be discovered that shed light on this particular selection.
*The 10C23 tablets were used as a model by artist Barry Moser for the tablets appearing in his illustrated Holy Bible (1999), the first Bible completely illustrated by one person since Gustave Doré's La Sainte Bible (1865). Mr. Moser has confessed his prior assumption that DeMille’s staff had chosen the script for the letters because they were more authentic. Consultation with at least two experts did not disabuse him of this notion.