The Ten Commandments Page #8

at the end of human strength,

beaten into the dust

from which he came,

the metal is ready

for the Maker's hand.

And he found strength

from a fruit-laden palm tree

and life-giving water;

flowing from the well of Midian.

- If only sheep were men!

- Unmarried men!

- Can you think of nothing else?

- I don't know. I've never tried!

I wish sheep

could learn to water themselves.

You needn't have painted

your nails, Lulua.

There isn't a man

from here to Horeb.

- What do you see, Sephora?

- What are you looking at?

- A man.

- What?

A man?

What kind of a man?

- A young man?

- Only one?

Is he handsome?

- Look at his sandals!

- Egyptian!

- His robe is not Egyptian.

- Who cares? He's a man.

Yes!

- He's eaten a whole bunch of dates!

- Could he be dangerous?

- Are you sure he's alive?

- I hope so!

- Do you think he's married?

- Look. There's real trouble.

- Amalekites.

- Amalekites!

- I'll talk to them.

- Talk to them? Get stones!

- They'll scatter the flock!

- Desert thieves!

- We drew this water!

- Out of the way, girl!

This is the well of Jethro, our father.

You have no right here!

Our goats don't know your father!

- Jethro's mark is on the well.

- They can't read either.

Nor can we!

- He's the Sheik of Midian!

- Then let him breed sons

-to guard it, not daughters.

- Get your hands off her!

Drive them away!

Let them be first

whose hands have drawn the water.

The stranger is wise, and strong.

Drive back your goats

until the sheep are watered.

All right, all right.

We should draw water for you

and wash the desert dust from your feet.

- Of course we should!

- Here's fresh water.

- I have soap weed.

- Let me first remove his sandals!

Never did a lost sheep

have so many shepherds.

- We have no towel.

- My veil will serve.

- But I...

- Here, let me pour the water!

- Am I to be bathed or drowned?

- I'll hold it for you.

Is it true that Egyptian girls

paint their eyes?

Yes. But very few have eyes

as beautiful as yours.

And who...?

Who is the brave one who

stood against the Amalekites?

That's Sephora. She's the oldest.

Since you have already

divided the stranger among you,

I will ask a welcome for him

in our father's tent.

- Our father is Jethro.

- He's Sheik of Midian.

Strength to you, stranger.

I am Moses,

son of Amram and Yochabel.

Health, prosperity, life to you,

Jethro of Midian.

Sephora has told me of your kindness.

Let us break bread

while my daughter brings meat.

You have come far.

From Egypt.

Across the desert? On foot?

He who has no name

surely guided your steps.

No name? You Bedouins

know the god of Abraham?

Abraham is the father of many nations.

We are the children of Ishmael,

his first-born.

We are the obedient of God.

My people look to him for deliverance.

But they are still in bondage.

Tomorrow we leave for the high pastures

beneath God's holy mountain.

My tent would be favored

if you joined us.

I am a stranger in a strange land.

I have no wealth,

no skill as a shepherd.

And it is death to give

sanctuary to a runaway slave.

- Slave?

- Death?

Not among our people.

You have wisdom.

You need nothing more.

And there are seven here to teach you

the tasks of a shepherd.

Sephora is the eldest.

You can learn best from her.

I will dwell in this land.

- Today he sleeps.

- Who sleeps?

He who has no name.

Does your God live on this mountain?

Sinai is his high place. His temple.

If this god is God,

he would live on every mountain,

in every valley.

He would not be only the god

of Israel or of Ishmael alone,

but of all men.

It is said he created all men

in his image.

And he would dwell in every heart,

in every mind...

...in every soul.

I do not know about such things.

But I do know that the mountain

rumbles when God is there.

And the earth trembles

and the cloud is red with fire.

At such a time,

has any man ever gone

to see him face to face?

No man has ever set foot

on the forbidden slopes of Sinai.

Why do you want to see him, Moses?

To know that he is.

And if he is, to know why

he has not heard the cries

of slaves in bondage.

Moses, it would be death

to look upon his face.

How many of my people have died

because he's turned away his face?

Can a man judge God?

No, Moses.

We cannot see his whole purpose.

Even Ishmael did not know that God

drove him into the desert

to be the father of a nation.

Is it not enough to know that he has

saved you from the Pharaoh's anger?

How do you know that?

You walk like a prince.

And you tight like a warrior.

There is word in the caravans

of a great one

who was driven out of Egypt.

This is not the scepter of a prince,

but the staff of a wanderer.

Then rest from wandering.

My father has many flocks,

and no son to tend them.

There would be peace of spirit

for you, Moses,

in our tents beneath the holy mountain.

You have strong faith in this God,

Sephora.

But, for me,

there is no peace of spirit

until I hear the word of God,

from God himself.

You haven't much time!

I wish every day

was a shearing festival!

I know. And all the men following you

like sheep to be sheared!

- One would be enough for me!

- If he were Moses!

Never before, my brothers,

has our wool brought so rich a payment.

Because Moses

has sold the whole shearing

of all the tribes in one piece,

at one price, to Lugal here.

His words are truth.

His trading is just.

Peace be with you, sheiks of Sinai.

Why are you dressed like that?

Aren't you going to dance with us

before the sheiks?

No, I am not going to dance

before the sheiks. Here.

And I am not going to be displayed

like a caravan's wares

before Moses or any other man.

Tonight I tend the sheep.

You needn't laugh.

Moses may not choose you either!

Moses shall no longer

be a stranger among us.

- We should give him of our flocks.

- And let him choose.

I shall give him choice

of my seven daughters for wife.

Seven to choose from.

- A strong son.

- A happy union.

The shadow of my wisdom has fled.

Can a man choose

from among the stars of the sky?

Consider them as they dance.

Cohath, strike your bow.

- A pleasant task.

- Indeed!

A bride, a shawl.

Choose one, not all.

One shawl, one wife.

Your choice for life.

Pearls of great price.

- Which, Moses?

- Which will it be?

Make your choice, Moses.

It is a garden of many flowers, Moses.

I wish you had my years

and I had your choice.

In the tent of Jethro

there is dignity, honor, freedom

and beauty.

All that a man could ask of life.

But my heart is still

a prisoner of the past.

I... I cannot choose now.

- Strength to you, sheiks of Sinai.

- May God guide your heart.

Moses!

Tonight he is awake.

Which of my sisters did you choose?

I made no choice, Sephora.

She was very beautiful, wasn't she?

This woman of Egypt

who left her scar upon your heart.

Her skin was white as curd.

Her eyes,

green as the cedars of Lebanon.

Her lips, tamarisk honey.

Like the breast of a dove,

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