Judah Ben-Hur Whether that was a proper name, or the person was being referred to as "the son of Hur" is not clear. The specific meaning of "Hur" is also unclear; among other possibilities, it may mean "something white" or "hollow or depressed ground". "The Count of Monte Cristo" was the inspiration for Ben-Hur; the main character Edmond Dantes is falsely accused, escapes his imprisonment and seeks vengeance on those responsible for his imprisonment. Judah Ben-Hur is a Jewish prince of Jerusalem who is descended from a royal family of Judaea; son of Ithamar; enslaved by the Romans and freed by Quintus
Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ Miles Gerald Keon's "Dion and Sibyls" (1898), and J. Breckenridge Ellis's "Adnah" (1902). "Esther" and other unauthorized uses of Wallace's characters led to court cases initiated by Wallace and his son Henry, to protect authors' copyrights. At least eight translations of the book into Hebrew were made between 1959 and 1990. Some of these versions have involved wholesale restructuring of the narrative, including changes to character, dropping of Christian themes, and plot. In 2016, Wallace's great-great-granddaughter, Carol Wallace, published a version of "Ben-Hur" which was released to coincide with the new film version, using prose for 21st century readers. "Ben-Hur"'s