Bina Nir
Biblical Narratives in INTERSTELLAR 
(Christopher Nolan, US/GB 2014)
Abstract
Religion	is	an	essential	marker	of	culture,	for	its	doctrines	reflect	the	systems	of	thought	
and values of any given civilization. The Christian faith and culture of the West were in 
turn based upon the holy scriptures of the Jews. Christian and the Jewish religions ergo 
view	the	Hebrew	Bible	as	a	holy	text	–	as	absolute	truth.	It	is	still	possible	to	recognize	the	
imprint of myths and narratives originating in the biblical text, as well as other religious 
Christian sources, in many Western cultural productions. The present article considers the 
presence of biblical narratives and myths in contemporary cultural productions based on 
an	analysis	of	the	science	fiction	film	Interstellar	(Christopher	Nolan,	US/GB	2014).	Inter-
stellar follows the space voyage of a team of experts sent through a wormhole to search 
for	a	planet	fit	for	human	settlement	since	Earth	is	in	the	grips	of	ecological	catastrophe	
that	threatens	to	wipe	out	humanity.	A	narrative	analysis	of	the	film	reveals	that	it	draws	
much of its inspiration from Judeo-Christian sources, particularly the narratives of the Old 
Testament.
As	a	work	of	science	fiction,	Interstellar	relies	on	the	study	of	the	physicist	Kip	Thorne,	
but,	in	addition	to	its	scientific	subject	matter,	the	film	is	also	replete	with	biblical	narra-
tives	such	as	the	apocalypse,	Noah’s	ark,	the	tale	of	the	spies,	prophecy	and	the	tasking	of	
the	“chosen”	one	with	a	mission,	signs	and	miracles,	the	ability	to	control	nature	and	to	
create elements within it, and the idea of punishment in the form of being denied entrance 
to the promised land.
Keywords
Biblical Narratives, Interstellar, Catastrophe, Science Fiction, Western Culture, Orienta-
tion, Mythology, Future Humanity
Biography
Bina Nir completed her doctoral thesis in the Faculty of Humanities at Tel Aviv University. 
Since	2000,	she	is	a	lecturer	at	the	Yezreel	Valley	College	and	the	Department	Head	of	the	
Honors B. A. Program. Her research focuses on the interface of Western religions and con-
temporary	cultures,	specifically	the	genealogies	of	cultural	constructs	rooted	in	the	Western	
religions,	in	areas	such	as	the	perceptions	of	time,	judgement,	leadership,	and	success	and	
failure. Her book Failure of Success	[in	Hebrew]	was	published	by	Resling	Press	in	2016.
www.jrfm.eu 2020, 6/1, 53–69 Biblical Narratives in Interstellar | 53
DOI: 10.25364/05.06:2020.1.4
Introduction
Although	 scholarly	 literature	 debates	 the	 defining	 characteristics	 of	Western	 cul-
ture,	it	forms	a	consensus	with	regard	to	the	institutions,	beliefs,	and	major	customs	
which can be legitimately deemed to compose its beating heart. The political sci-
entist Karl Deutsch exposits eight main components of Western civilization, which 
include both Catholicism and Protestantism.1 Western Christianity (beginning with 
Catholicism	and	later	branching	off	to	include	Protestantism)	is	historically	the	most	
important	defining	component	of	Western	civilization.	The	Christian	faith	and	cul-
ture of the West were in turn based upon the holy scriptures of the Jews,2 which 
were disseminated around the Roman Empire.3 Both the Christian and the Jewish 
religions	ergo	view	the	Hebrew	Bible	as	a	holy	text	–	as	absolute	truth	and	the	prod-
uct	of	divine	revelation	–	and	it	is	still	possible	to	recognize	the	imprint	of	myths	and	
narratives originating in the biblical text, as well as other religious Christian sources, 
in many Western cultural productions.
Religion	is	an	essential	marker	of	culture,	for	its	doctrines	reflect	the	systems	of	
thought and values of any given civilization.4 Every human society or culture has its 
own mythology, and that mythological heritage constitutes an indivisible part of 
religion,5 since some aspects of reality require mythical conceptualization, such as 
the	domain	of	values	and	ideals.	The	myth	reflects	the	organic	and	holistic	aspect	
of	life	which	we	cannot	understand	using	reason	or	pure	scientific	method	alone.	
It is a way of imposing order on a world that does not make sense.6 Mircea Eliade 
maintained that religious myths not only provide a framework for explaining the 
cultural behavior of human beings and attest to past experience, but also construct 
the	paradigm	for	future	endeavors	and	aspirations.	 In	fact,	 in	Eliade’s	eyes,	myth	
can	be	considered	more	“real”	than	“historical	truth”	in	that	it	has	deeper,	richer,	
and longer-lasting implications.7
This article examines the presence of biblical narratives and myths in contempo-
rary	cultural	productions	based	on	an	analysis	of	the	science	fiction	film	Interstel-
lar	(Christopher	Nolan,	US/GB	2014).	The	film	clearly	belongs	in	the	science	fiction	
genre	and	is	mainly	based	on	scientific	ideas,	which	I	will	present	in	the	course	of	
this article. As I will go on to show, however, it also contains religious motifs cen-
1	 Deutsch	1981,	51–93.
2	 Hacohen	2006,	23.
3	 Malkin	2007,	44.
4	 Durkheim	1971,	418–421.
5	 Niebuhr	2011,	125.
6	 May	1991,	21.
7	 Eliade	1959,	42–43.
54 | Bina Nir www.jrfm.eu 2020, 6/1, 53–69
tered around the main Judeo-Christian narrative, which constitutes the foundation 
of Western culture. In addition, we will see that it is even possible to make a con-
nection	between	at	 least	 some	of	 the	 scientific	 ideas	explored	 in	 the	movie	 and	
religious	ideas.	Henri	Bergson	claimed	that	ethics,	law,	and	scientific	thought	origi-
nated	in	religion,	were	integrated	with	it	for	the	majority	of	our	history,	and	remain	
steeped in its spirit.8
Interstellar	is	a	science	fiction	movie.	Science	fiction,	as	a	genre,	deals	mainly	
with	futuristic	fictional	plots	that	develop	existing	contemporary	ideas	and	trends	
in	the	fields	of	science,	technology,	economics,	and	art,	among	others,	and	explore	
their	potential	repercussions	on	the	future	of	humanity.	The	science	fiction	author	
Robert	Heinlein	defined	science	fiction	as	“realistic	speculation	about	possible	fu-
ture events, based solidly on adequate knowledge of the real world, past and pres-
ent,	and	on	a	thorough	understanding	of	the	nature	and	significance	of	the	scientific	
method”.9
Interstellar follows the space voyage of a team of experts sent through a 
wormhole	to	search	for	a	planet	fit	for	human	settlement	since	Earth	is	in	the	grips	
of ecological catastrophe that threatens to wipe out humanity. A wormhole is a hy-
pothetical physical phenomenon that would allow instant travel between two dis-
tant points along the space-time continuum, or in other words a passage between 
two locations in three-dimensional space and even a way of traveling through time. 
The	film	was	written	by	the	director’s	brother,	Jonathan	Nolan,	who	took	inspira-
tion from the work of physicist Kip Stephen Thorne, which implies that wormholes 
in	the	space-time	continuum	could	be	a	potential	gateway	to	time	travel.	This	fic-
tional	idea	of	the	wormhole,	which	drives	the	movie’s	entire	action	plot,	is	based	on	
groundbreaking work that American Thorne and his colleagues at Caltech published 
in	1988,	in	which	they	claimed	that	time	travel	is	not	just	possible,	but	even	proba-
ble under certain conditions.10	Theirs	was	the	first	paper	that	saw	leading	physicists	
making	a	scientific	claim	for	the	possibility	of	changing	the	course	of	time.	Michio	
Kaku	summarized:	“If	you	could	fall	straight	through	to	the	black	hole,	there	would	
be	another	universe	on	the	other	side.	This	is	called	the	Einstein-Rosen	Bridge,	first	
introduced	by	Einstein	in	1935;	it	is	now	called	a	wormhole.”11 Their proclamation 
was based on the simple hypothesis that an immense gravitational force, in accord-
ance with the general theory of relativity, could potentially bend time-space in such 
a	way	as	to	link	two	distinct	spots	in	the	universe.	The	resulting	“wormhole”	would	
then allow instant travel through three-dimensional space as well as through time, 
8	 Bergson	1954,	317.
9	 Heinlein	1969,	22.
10	 Kaku	1994,	19–20.
11	 Kaku	2008,	209.
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Fig. 1: The wormhole, Interstellar (Christopher Nolan, US 2014), 00:59:12.
and	therefore	it	could	be	used	to	travel	back	into	the	past	(see	fig.	1).	The	only	ca-
veat to the theory is that creating such a wormhole would require colossal amounts 
of energy, far beyond anything our technology could be expected to supply in the 
foreseeable future.
Thorne claims that since time travel is physically possible, though we may be 
many generations away from being able to investigate it experimentally, it is no 
longer	 the	purview	of	science	fiction	writers	alone.	 In	 the	past,	serious	scientists	
tended to turn their backs on an idea that they deemed too farfetched to be given 
any time or attention. Times have changed, and many physicists nowadays see time 
travel	as	an	important	subject	that	should	not	be	ignored.12
Thorne	himself	attested	in	the	preface	to	the	book	he	wrote	about	the	film	Inter-
stellar,	“As	a	child	and	later	as	a	teenager,	I	was	motivated	to	become	a	scientist	
by	reading	science	fiction	by	Isaac	Asimov,	Robert	Heinlein,	and	others.”13 Although, 
in	turn,	the	film	is	largely	rooted	in	speculative	science,	a	narrative	analysis	reveals	
that it also draws much of its inspiration from Judeo-Christian sources, particularly 
the narratives of the Old Testament.
The End of Days and Apocalyptic Era
The	film	opens	on	a	reality	where	Earth’s	resources	have	reached	a	state	of	deple-
tion that has forced human society to revert to agrarianism, and even in this state 
human life is on the brink of collapse. It is clear to both the scientists and the lay 
12	 Thorne	2014,	133.
13	 Thorne	2014,	ix.
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Fig. 2: Humanity in the grip of catastrophe, Interstellar (Christopher Nolan, US 2014), 02:19:33.
people	presented	in	the	film	that	things	are	only	bound	to	get	worse	and	that	Earth,	
or at least its human population, is headed for catastrophe that will spell the end for 
civilization	(see	fig.	2).
Joseph Cooper (played by Matthew McConaughey) is a widower raising his two 
children,	15-year-old	Tom	and	10-year-old	Murphy	(“Murph”),	with	the	help	of	his	
father-in-law, Donald. Cooper used to be an engineer and test pilot for NASA, but 
at	the	beginning	of	the	film	he	is	a	farmer	living	on	a	farm.	The	overall	atmosphere	
created	at	the	film’s	outset	is	the	apocalyptic	feeling	of	looming	disaster	that	could	
put	an	end	 to	humanity	–	 the	sandstorm	alarm	(00:18:08),	 the	drive	 through	the	
storm	(00:18:30),	and	so	forth.
The	film	represents	a	general	sense	of	a	fast-approaching	and	unavoidable	end.	Nev-
ertheless, it also shows a team of scientists working to save humanity and make a fresh 
start,	rather	similar	to	the	apocalyptic	vision	of	the	end	as	a	new	beginning.	The	film’s	
through	line	–	its	depiction	of	impending	doom	alongside	the	hope	of	renewal	–	fits	
with the biblical timeline that leads from Creation to the End of Days.14 The biblical time-
line presents event after event in a chronological sequence leading up to the present 
time;	from	there	the	timeline	continues	directly	towards	its	terminal	point	–	the	Apoca-
lypse, the End of Days, or perhaps salvation.15
In the Old Testament, the apocalypse is mainly the purview of the Hebrew Proph-
ets, who depict the end of days as dependent on the conduct of the community 
and the Israelite nation as a whole. This belief in the End of Days made its way into 
Christianity	via	the	Book	of	Revelation	–	the	Revelation	of	John.	This	book	had	 in	
turn	been	influenced	by	the	apocalyptic	visions	of	the	Old	Testament	prophet	Daniel,	
14	 Dan	2000,	19.
15	 Zeligman	1992,	102–103.
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which	became	the	model	for	all	subsequent	visions	of	the	End	of	Days:	“And	he	said,	
Behold, I will make thee know what shall be in the last end of the indignation: for at 
the	time	appointed	the	end	shall	be”	(Daniel	8:19).16
The descriptions presented in this vision have become the cornerstone of histor-
ical	perception	of	the	“End	of	the	days”	in	Western	culture.	Nevertheless,	the	Old	
Testament	sources	do	not	present	a	coherent	picture	of	final	salvation,	but	rather	
provide a series of apocalyptic motifs emphasizing the drive towards salvation and 
redemption at the End of Days. Joseph Klausner emphasizes that the Hebrews were 
the only ancient nation to have a messianic vision of the cosmos.17 That messian-
ic tradition was then transmitted to the Western world through Christianity. The 
apocalyptic narratives within that religious tradition have penetrated deeply into 
the substrata of Western culture and still inform many works of literature and art, as 
well	as	science	fiction	films	of	the	apocalyptic	genre,	to	which	Interstellar clearly 
belongs.
The Story of the Spies and Noah’s Ark
As	a	child,	Murphy,	one	of	the	film’s	protagonists,	believes	her	room	to	be	haunted	
by	a	ghost	following	the	discovery	that	certain	books	have	fallen	off	their	shelves	
during the night, creating blanks in the stacks of books reminiscent of Morse 
code.	The	girl	thinks	that	the	bookshelf	is	“talking	to	her”	(00:14:57)	and	believes	
she	 is	also	 receiving	other	“signs”,	 such	as	 the	sand	 from	the	sandstorm	which	
bursts through the window and settles in what is clearly a non-random pattern 
(00:19:40).	Murphy	and	her	 father,	 Cooper,	 discover	 that	 the	Poltergeist18 must 
be an intelligent being sending them messages by way of gravitational waves 
(00:20:54).	The	message	 is	binary	code	that	 transmits	a	set	of	coordinates	 lead-
ing	to	an	unknown	spot	on	the	map.	They	travel	to	the	location	specified	by	the	
coordinates	and	discover	that	it	is	the	site	of	a	secret	NASA	base	(00:24:32).	Upon	
being escorted inside, they meet Professor Brand, director of the agency and an 
old	friend	of	Cooper’s.
Brand reveals to them that NASA has discovered a wormhole, most likely created 
by an unknown intelligence for the sake of saving humanity, which could be used 
to	travel	enormous	distances	to	uncharted	areas	of	the	galaxy	and	therefore	offer	
humanity a chance of surviving by settling on a new planet.
16 All biblical citations are taken from the King James Version (KJV) unless stated otherwise.
17	 Klausner	1926,	199–200.
18 The word Poltergeist comes from a combination of the German words poltern (to make noise) and 
geist	(ghost),	and	thus	can	be	loosely	translated	to	mean	“noisy	ghost”.
58 | Bina Nir www.jrfm.eu 2020, 6/1, 53–69
It turns out that NASA volunteers who had been sent on a previous exploratory 
mission	 through	 the	wormhole,	 the	“Lazarus”	mission,19	had	 identified	 three	po-
tential planets for human settlement circling around a super massive black hole 
named	“Gargantua”.	Those	planets	are	“Miller”,	“Edmund”,	and	“Mann”,	named	
after the three astronauts who had scouted them. Brand, believing that it is too late 
to	save	the	Earth,	 lets	Cooper	in	on	his	vision	of	how	the	“end	of	the	world”	will	
unfold	(00:29:17);	that	prospect	is	the	reason	why	NASA	has	been	secretly	planning	
to build a ship to allow humanity to escape the dying planet and start anew some-
where	else.	Brand	then	recruits	Cooper	to	pilot	the	“Endurance”	spaceship,	which	
will	venture	through	the	wormhole	to	confirm	the	scant	data	transmitted	back	by	
the	astronauts	of	the	Lazarus	mission	(00:29:52).
Brand	presents	two	alternative	outcomes	of	the	Endurance	mission	–	Plan	A	in-
volves the return of the Endurance with the necessary information to decide which 
planet if any is suitable for human settlement, followed by a mass exodus through 
the wormhole using giant space stations. If, however, the Endurance cannot make 
it back to Earth, or the exodus plan cannot be executed for any reason, Plan B will 
go	into	effect.	Plan	B	involves	the	Endurance	crew	resettling	whichever	planet	they	
find	suitable	for	human	life	with	the	5,000	frozen	embryos	carried	aboard	the	ship	
(00:33:45).	This	plan	implies	that	humanity	will	start	over	on	one	of	the	planets	on	
the other side of the wormhole in case there is no way to save the people living on 
the planet today. The two alternatives bear more than a passing resemblance to the 
biblical	story	of	the	flood	and	Noah’s	ark,	even	thoughith	the	biblical	flood	framed	
as punishment for the moral degradation of human society. Noah is chosen to en-
sure	the	continuation	of	life	upon	the	Earth	after	the	flood:	
And	God	 saw	 that	 the	wickedness	of	man	was	great	 in	 the	earth	 […]	And	 it	
repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his 
heart. And the Lord said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face 
of	the	earth;	both	man,	and	beast,	and	the	creeping	thing,	and	the	fowls	of	the	
air;	for	it	repenteth	me	that	I	have	made	them.	But	Noah	found	grace	in	the	eyes	
of	the	Lord.	(Genesis	6:5–8)	
The	 film	mentions	 three	 missions	 undertaken	 with	 the	 aim	 of	 saving	 humanity.	
The	first,	the	“Lazarus”	mission,	whose	volunteers	were	the	first	explorers	sent	by	
NASA	through	the	wormhole	 is	 reminiscent	of	 the	biblical	 tale	of	 the	spies	–	 the	
19	 The	name	given	to	the	mission	attests	to	the	presiding	sentiment	about	Earth’s	impending	fate	and	
the chances of coming back from it. In the Christian tradition, Lazarus was a man Jesus raised from 
the	dead:	“And	when	he	thus	had	spoken,	he	cried	with	a	loud	voice,	Lazarus,	come	forth.	And	he	
that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about 
with	a	napkin.	Jesus	saith	unto	them,	Loose	him,	and	let	him	go”	(John	11:43–44).
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scouts sent out to inspect the terrain. In the tale of the spies, God commands Moses 
to	send	12	people	from	the	desert	of	Paran	to	Canaan:
that they may search the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel: 
of every tribe of their fathers shall ye send a man, every one a ruler among them 
(Numbers	13:1)	[…]	And	see	the	land,	what	it	is,	and	the	people	that	dwelleth	
therein,	whether	they	be	strong	or	weak,	few	or	many;	and	what	the	land	is	that	
they	dwell	in,	whether	it	be	good	or	bad;	and	what	cities	they	be	that	they	dwell	
in,	whether	in	tents,	or	in	strong	holds;	and	what	the	land	is,	whether	it	be	fat	
or	lean,	whether	there	be	wood	therein,	or	not	[…]	and	bring	of	the	fruit	of	the	
land.	(Numbers	13:2,	18–20)
The	men	of	the	biblical	mission,	the	spies,	came	back	40	days	later,	bringing	with	
them the fruit of the land as well as news that the land was good but that the Ca-
naanite	cities	were	well	 fortified	and	the	people	that	dwelt	within	 it	were	strong	
and plentiful. And even though Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun ar-
gued vehemently that the children of Israel could inherit the land, all the others 
opposed	them,	saying	that	it	is	“a	land	that	eateth	up	the	inhabitants	hereof”	(Num-
bers	13:32).	In	the	end,	the	spies	and	their	whole	generation,	the	desert	generation,	
are punished for their lack of faith by never being allowed to enter the promised 
land	–	with	the	exception	of	Caleb	and	Joshua,	who	do	enter	it	and	are	even	granted	
domains within it.
In	 the	 film,	 the	 Endurance	 crew,	 which	 consists	 of	 Cooper	 the	 pilot,	 Brand’s	
daughter	Amelia,	Romilly	the	physicist,	Doyle	the	geographer,	and	two	artificially	
intelligent	robots	named	TARS	and	CASE,	embark	on	the	second	mission,	in	effect	
the	“Noah’s	ark”	mission	since	it	carries	the	frozen	embryos	that	will	replenish	the	
human	 race,	 following	 that	of	 the	“spies”	who	had	sent	back	 information	about	
each planet. The Endurance passes through the wormhole and heads towards 
Millers’	planet	(01:00:15).	Soon	the	crew	discovers	that	the	extreme	gravitational	
forces this close to the black hole create a severe time dilation which means that 
every	hour	spent	on	the	surface	of	Millers’	is	the	equivalent	of	seven	years	passing	
on Earth.20 Cooper, Amelia, Doyle, and CASE go down to the surface of the planet 
only to discover that it is uninhabitable since it is covered in its entirety by a shal-
low	ocean	traversed	frequently	by	giant	waves	–	another	consequence	of	the	black	
hole’s	gravitational	 influence.	While	Amelia	is	trying	to	recover	the	data	collected	
by Miller, a wave hits the crew, killing Doyle and delaying their departure from the 
20	 The	 time	dilation	described	 in	 the	film,	which	accounts	 for	 the	differences	between	 the	passage	
of	 time	on	 the	 spaceship	 and	on	 the	 planet’s	 surface,	 is	 in	 accordance	with	 Einstein’s	 theory	 of	
relativity.	See	Thorne	2014,	45.
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Fig. 3: Doctor Mann in his cryo-chamber, Interstellar (Christopher Nolan, US 2014), 01:36:24.
planet.	By	the	time	they	get	back	to	the	Endurance	they	discover	that	23	years	have	
passed	since	they	left	the	ship	on	their	reconnaissance	mission	to	Miller	(01:17:40).	
The	ship’s	fuel	is	running	out	and	they	must	now	decide	which	of	the	two	planets	
they	should	continue	on	to,	based	on	the	data	sent	back	by	the	“spies”.
Amelia	 suggests	 traveling	 to	 Edmunds’	 planet,	 where	 the	 data	 seems	 more	
promising,	 whereas	 Cooper	 and	 Romilly	 prefer	 Manns’	 planet	 because	 it	 is	 still	
transmitting,	unlike	Edmunds,	whose	signal	fell	silent	years	earlier	(01:25:50).	The	
crew chooses to go to Mann. The Endurance goes into orbit around the planet and 
the	crew	takes	a	lander	pod	down	to	the	planet,	where	they	expect	to	find	Doctor	
Mann,	one	of	the	original	“spies”,	in	suspended	animation	(01:35:30)	(see	fig.	3).
Upon	entering	the	planet’s	atmosphere,	they	discover	a	world	of	ice	covered	in	
ammonia	gas	that	does	not	seem	fit	for	human	inhabitance.	They	find	and	wake	up	
Doctor	Mann,	who	confirms	that	the	planet’s	surface,	under	the	ice,	 is	suitable	for	
human	settlement	(01:39:29).	However,	he	also	reveals	to	the	crew	that	there	was	
never	a	Plan	A	to	save	humanity	to	begin	with	–	Brand	made	it	all	up	as	a	cover	story	
in	order	to	motivate	Cooper	to	undertake	the	mission	(01:42:06).
Meanwhile,	the	film	also	follows	Murphy,	now	an	adult	and	a	NASA	scientist	back	
on Earth, who is trying to solve a physics problem that has plagued Professor Brand 
for	years:	how	the	giant	space	station	built	by	NASA	could	lift	off	into	space	without	
launchers, since the enormous size of the station would not allow for them. On his 
deathbed, Brand reveals to Murphy that he had almost solved the problem years 
ago,	and	that	the	final	feat	is	not	possible	without	additional	information	that	can	
only	come	from	the	singularity	of	the	black	hole	–	information	that	cannot	be	ob-
tained	(01:32:30).	Having	concluded	that	humanity	would	not	be	able	to	escape	the	
dying Earth, Brand put his faith in Plan B, a fact he did not share with Cooper when 
he	asked	him	to	join	the	mission	as	a	pilot	of	the	Endurance.
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As it turns out, Mann too had given false information about the planet he had 
been	sent	 to	explore,	 just	 like	the	“spies”	 in	 the	biblical	story:	 there	 is	no	surface	
under	the	ice;	the	planet	is	uninhabitable.	Mann	attempts	to	kill	Cooper	(01:51:57),	
but	Cooper	manages	to	call	 for	help	and	 is	rescued	(01:57:35).	Mann	then	tries	to	
take over the ship and burns up with it. He is thus punished and will not get to enter 
the	promised	land	despite	the	long	and	arduous	journey	he	made	for	humanity:	“Yet	
thou	shalt	see	the	land	before	thee;	but	thou	shalt	not	go	thither	unto	the	land	which	
I	give	the	children	of	Israel”	(Deuteronomy	32:52).
The	movie	ends	with	a	futuristic	version	of	Noah’s	ark	–	the	third	one	–	finally	sav-
ing	humanity.	Cooper	returns	from	the	place	where	he	was	trapped	(the	tesseract	–	
to	which	we	will	return)	and	discovers	that	he	is	in	an	artificial	structure	in	space	–	a	
habitat	named	“Cooper”	that	is	orbiting	Saturn.	The	habitat	is	actually	named	after	
his	daughter,	Murphy	Cooper,	who	had	finally	managed	to	solve	the	gravitational	
propulsion	problem	and	save	humanity	by	building	it	a	Noah’s	ark.	Cooper	reunites	
with Murph, now an elderly woman on her deathbed, surrounded by family (her chil-
dren	and	grandchildren).	She	encourages	her	father	to	go	and	find	Amelia,	who	has	
already	begun	the	mission	of	settling	Edmunds’	planet.	Murph	stayed	behind	to	wait	
for her father, believing that he would be back. Cooper then goes back to the planet 
where	he	had	left	Amelia	with	the	embryos	that	will	save	humanity	(02:42:05).
The Present and the Ability to Influence the Future
With little fuel left after the accident, Cooper and Amelia plan to use the black hole 
Gargantua	as	a	gravitational	slingshot	to	project	them	in	the	direction	of	planet	Ed-
munds. Once they have gathered enough speed in orbit around the black hole, Coop-
er and TARS manually operate the engines of the two landing pods to push the En-
durance	out	of	the	black	hole’s	gravitational	pull.	Having	completed	that	task,	Coop-
er	and	TARS	detach	themselves	from	the	Endurance	(02:17:18)	and	are	sucked	into	
the	black	hole,	where	they	find	themselves	in	the	tesseract	structure.21	(See	fig.	4).
In this structure, time appears as a physical dimension. Cooper is trapped in 
the four-dimensional cube, but soon enough realizes that the tesseract is in fact 
constructed	 of	 an	 infinite	 number	 of	 versions	 of	 his	 daughter’s	 childhood	 room	
(02:21:50).	Through	the	bookcase,	he	can	see	her	at	different	points	in	time,	at	dif-
ferent	ages	–	as	a	child	and	as	an	adult	–	and	he	tries	to	communicate	with	her	by	
pushing	books	out	of	the	shelves	to	spell	out	“Stay”	in	Morse	code	(02:23:55).	He	
sees himself in the past telling Murph that he is about to go on the Endurance mis-
21 A tesseract is a hypercube, or a cube in four-dimensional space.
62 | Bina Nir www.jrfm.eu 2020, 6/1, 53–69
Fig. 4: Cooper inside the tesseract, Interstellar (Christopher Nolan, US 2014), 02:27:14.
sion and realizes that she was trying to make him stay because the Poltergeist had 
told her to do so. As an adult, Murphy looks at all the sketches in her notebook, 
the	signs	she	had	written	down,	and	understands	that	her	father	was	the	“spirit”	
speaking to her through the bookcase all along. Using gravitational waves, Coop-
er transmits the information TARS has collected from the black hole to the older 
Murphy.	Using	this	information,	Murphy	is	then	able	to	complete	Professor	Brand’s	
equation, enabling the evacuation of the earth and the saving of humanity.
Cooper in turn realizes not only that the Poltergeist is himself talking to his 
daughter from a future time, but also that the extraterrestrial beings who opened 
up the wormhole must be human beings from the future and that they must also 
have created the tesseract to enable him to communicate with Murphy in order to 
give	her	 the	 information	required	 to	save	humanity.	TARS	says	 to	Cooper:	“They	
saved	us”	(02:27:00).	“Who	the	hell	is	they?	And	just	why	do	they	want	to	help	us?”,	
Cooper asks in response. The robot does not know exactly but claims that they con-
structed	this	three-dimensional	space	inside	their	five-dimensional	reality	expressly	
so that Cooper could understand the information and send the message back to 
his	daughter,	who	has	been	“chosen”	to	save	humanity.	Gravity,	the	robot	claims,	
can	cross	dimensions,	including	the	dimension	of	time,	but	they	must	find	the	exact	
moment to transmit the data to Murph, when she is old enough to understand it, 
which	they	finally	do	with	the	aid	of	the	watch	Cooper	gave	her	before	he	left	Earth.
The	idea	that	man	can	change	the	future	or	influence	the	future	is	at	the	basis	
of	monotheistic	faith.	The	film	presents	a	conception	of	time	that	is	complex	and	
non-linear,	whereas	biblical	time	is	linear.	In	the	Bible,	time	is	external	to	us;	it	fol-
lows	a	direct	course	towards	the	final	event,	the	establishment	of	the	Kingdom	of	
Heaven on Earth.22 Nevertheless, biblical time is non-deterministic. The prophets as-
22	 Leibowitz	2002.
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sure	us	that	we	have	a	decisive	influence	on	this	outcome	and	that	it	is	not	a	future	
set	in	stone:	“For	if	ye	thoroughly	amend	your	ways	and	your	doings	[…]	then	will	I	
cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers, for ever and 
ever”	(Jeremiah	7:5,	7).	Man	 in	 the	Bible	exists	within	time;	at	any	moment	they	
may	be	tested	to	see	whether	they	succeed	or	fail	in	fulfilling	the	will	of	God,23 and 
the	actions	of	humankind	in	the	present,	according	to	the	Bible,	will	affect	the	un-
known future. This view contains no element of deterministic fate, for there is the 
possibility	of	influencing	the	future	through	present	behavior.	In	the	ancient	world,	
the future is determined by necessity and fate, and humankind has no sway over 
it	whatsoever.	The	 idea	that	our	actions	 in	the	present	day	can	affect	the	future,	
first	presented	in	the	Bible,	was	revolutionary	in	the	ancient	world.	The	film,	while	
proposing	a	different,	more	complex	conception	of	time,	remains	basically	faithful	
to	the	biblical	notion	that	actions	taken	in	the	present	have	an	effect	on	the	future.
The Mission and the “Chosen” One
At	the	beginning	of	the	film,	when	Professor	Brand	is	trying	to	convince	Cooper	to	
accept	the	commission	and	embark	on	a	risky	journey	with	an	unknown	outcome	in	
an	attempt	to	save	humanity,	the	professor	tells	Cooper:	“Something	sent	you	here.	
They	chose	you”	(00:30:58).	Cooper	therefore	presents	the	mission	to	his	family	as	
something he must accept. That kind of commitment requires devotion and faith, 
and	only	at	the	end	of	the	film	do	we	understand	that	Cooper	was	chosen	to	help	the	
one	truly	“chosen”	to	save	humanity	–	his	daughter,	Murph	(02:29:50)	(see	fig.	5).
“They”	chose	her	when	she	was	still	a	child,	 just	as	the	prophet	Jeremiah	was	
chosen	before	he	was	even	born:	“Before	I	formed	thee	in	the	belly	I	knew	thee;	and	
before	thou	camest	forth	out	of	the	womb	I	sanctified	thee,	and	I	ordained	thee	a	
prophet	unto	the	nations”	(Jeremiah	1:5).	In	talking	to	TARS,	Cooper	realizes	that	
“they”	have	access	to	time	but	that	“they”	need	him	in	order	to	find	the	exact	right	
moment in time to transfer the information TARS collected from the black hole. 
When	asked	by	TARS	how	he	could	get	the	message	across,	Cooper	replies:	“Love,	
TARS	[…]	it’s	the	key”	(02:30:30).	Just	like	her	father,	Murph	too	has	faith	and	love.	
She believes her father will come back to save humanity, which is what allows her 
to	 receive	 the	message	 (02:32:15).	 She	 carefully	writes	down	 the	movements	of	
the	watch	hand	 (02:32:32),	 translates	 the	Morse	 code	 and	finally	 yells	 “Eureka!”	
(02:33:05).	Once	the	solution	is	found	“they”	start	to	collapse	the	tesseract,	a	struc-
ture	created	specifically	for	Cooper.
23	 Rauch	1978,	10–11.
64 | Bina Nir www.jrfm.eu 2020, 6/1, 53–69
Fig. 5: Cooper and Young Murph, father and daughter, Interstellar (Christopher Nolan, US 2014), 
00:06:18.
A sense of mission and of being chosen for a mission is felt in the movie by Cooper, 
Amelia, and Murph. That sense of mission is a motif that appears countless times in 
the	foundational	texts	of	the	Judeo-Christian	narrative.	Research	into	sanctification	
for	prophecy	in	the	Bible	presents	a	clear	literary	model	of	an	almost	fixed	sequence	
of events.24	Even	though	every	sanctification	story	has	its	own	specificities,	it	almost	
always	begins	with	God	surprising	the	chosen	one	by	unexpectedly	revealing	God’s	
self	to	that	person	in	one	way	or	another.	Many	prophets	hear	“voices”	of	instruction,	
the most famous of which is the voice heard by Moses coming from a burning bush: 
Now	Moses	kept	the	flock	of	Jethro	[…]	and	he	led	the	flock	to	the	backside	of	
the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb. And the angel of 
the	Lord	appeared	unto	him	in	a	flame	of	fire	out	of	the	midst	of	a	bush:	and	he	
looked,	and,	behold,	the	bush	burned	with	fire,	and	the	bush	was	not	consumed	
[…]	And	when	the	Lord	saw	that	he	turned	aside	to	see,	God	called	unto	him	out	
of	the	midst	of	the	bush.	(Exodus	3:1–2,	4)
Analogously,	 in	 the	film	Murph	 receives	 signs	 and	messages	 from	 the	bookcase,	
which	appears	to	be	“talking”	to	her.	Another	step	in	the	process	of	sanctification	
is	the	stage	at	which	some	prophets	express	opposition	to	their	appointment	–	the	
prophets recoil from the task they are chosen for and are reluctant to accept it. So it 
is	with	Jeremiah,	who	says:	“Ah,	Lord	God!	behold,	I	cannot	speak:	for	I	am	a	child”	
(Jeremiah	1:6).	An	exception	to	this	rule	is	Isaiah,	who	in	his	prophetic	vision	volun-
teers	to	accept	the	mission	of	prophecy	willingly:	“Then	said	I,	Here	am	I;	send	me”	
(Isaiah	6:8).	Murph,	however,	like	most	prophets	chosen	by	God,	is	opposed	to	the	
24	 Simon	1997,	57–82.
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mission her father is charged with and resents him for accepting it for a long time, 
even into adulthood. 
The prophet is then delivered from their reluctance by words of encouragement 
from	God.	“Certainly	I	will	be	with	thee”,	says	God	to	Moses	as	he	is	being	sanctified	
(Exodus	3:12).	To	Ezekiel,	God	says:	“Behold,	I	have	made	thy	face	strong	against	
their faces, and thy forehead strong against their foreheads. As an adamant harder 
than	flint	have	 I	made	thy	 forehead:	 fear	 them	not,	neither	be	dismayed	at	 their	
looks,	though	they	be	a	rebellious	house”	(Ezekiel	3:8–9).	 In	the	film,	Cooper	en-
courages	Murphy	through	the	veil	of	time	(02:30:30),	and	she	does	indeed	manage	
to	decipher	the	signs.	There	are	also	signs	and	tokens	that	herald	the	prophet’s	as-
cension	into	their	role,	such	as	God	touching	Jeremiah’s	mouth:	“Then	the	Lord	put	
forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the Lord said unto me, Behold, I have 
put	my	words	in	thy	mouth”	(Jeremiah	1:9).	Upon	being	sanctified,	Moses	is	given	
special	signs	to	convince	his	people	of	his	prophetic	status,	such	as	turning	his	staff	
into	a	snake:	“And	he	cast	it	on	the	ground,	and	it	became	a	serpent”	(Exodus	4:3).	
In	the	film,	with	Professor	Brand’s	death	all	the	signs	point	to	Murph	being	finally	
ready to assume her role as the chosen one, such as her understanding that Brand 
had made up Plan A as a cover story and that she alone can now save humanity. 
Finally,	 there	 is	an	emphasis	placed	on	 the	significance	of	 the	prophet’s	mission.	
Jeremiah	describes	his	role	according	to	the	word	of	God:	“See,	I	have	this	day	set	
thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to 
destroy,	and	to	throw	down,	to	build,	and	to	plant”(	Jeremiah	1:10).	Murph’s	mis-
sion is to become a scientist and to save the world and humanity.
The	sense	of	mission	has	to	do	with	faith	and	the	desire	to	influence	the	future,	
even	though	most	of	the	time	it	involves	a	journey	whose	is	outcome	is	unknown.	
This	conception	is	expressed	in	God’s	speech	to	Abraham	when	he	charges	him	with	
his	mission:	“Get	thee	out	of	thy	country,	and	from	thy	kindred,	and	from	thy	fa-
ther’s	house,	unto	a	land	that	I	will	shew	thee.	And	I	will	make	of	thee	a	great	nation,	
and	I	will	bless	thee,	and	make	thy	name	great”	(Genesis	12:1–2).	Similarly,	Moses’s	
mission carries with it an expectation of future success. In a non-static world, it is 
possible to change the course of events and disrupt the existing human order. The 
twelve	apostles,	Jesus’s	disciples,	were	charged	after	his	death	with	the	mission	of	
spreading	Jesus’s	word	far	and	wide.	All	of	the	apostles,	with	the	exception	of	John	
son	of	Zebedee,	died	unnatural	deaths	in	fulfilling	their	mission.	The	twelve	are	in	
fact directly chosen by Jesus from among all the disciples to carry out this mission, 
as	described	in	the	Gospel	of	Luke:	“And	when	it	was	day,	he	called	unto	him	his	
disciples:	and	of	them	he	chose	twelve,	whom	also	he	named	apostles”	(6:13).
The narrative of the chosen one is not found only in religious Judeo-Christian texts. 
Socrates too was charged with a mission by a God (Apollo), a mission communicated 
66 | Bina Nir www.jrfm.eu 2020, 6/1, 53–69
to his friend Chaerephon by the Oracle of Delphi: his mission (should he choose to ac-
cept	it)	is	to	“awaken”	the	denizens	of	his	city,	Athens.	Socrates	tried	to	resist	this	fate,	
at	least	that	is	what	he	claimed	in	his	defense	at	his	trial,	as	described	by	Plato:	“For	
know that the god commands me to do this, and I believe that no greater good ever 
came	to	pass	in	the	city	than	my	service	to	the	god	[…]	something	divine	and	spiritual	
comes	to	me	[…]	I	have	had	this	from	my	childhood;	it	is	a	sort	of	voice	that	comes	to	
me	and	when	it	comes	it	always	holds	me	back	from	what	I	am	thinking	of	doing.”25
In the biblical text, God is the one who chooses the prophets for humanity and 
for	 the	people	of	 Israel.	 In	 the	film,	 those	who	choose	Cooper	 and	his	daughter	
Murph	are	called	“they”.	Not	unlike	the	biblical	idea	of	“I	am	that	I	am”,	we	do	not	
really	ever	know	who	“they”	are,	but	we	imagine	“them”	as	beings	with	superior	
intelligence	and	therefore	super-human	powers.	“They”	have	the	ability	to	control	
nature	and	open	up	an	artificial	wormhole	in	the	universe,	as	well	as	to	somehow	
generate the structure of the four-dimensional tesseract, an ability similar to divine 
creation.	“They”	are	likened	to	God	as	described	in	the	Bible	–	a	superior	being	that	
is outside nature, a creator who is able to create and control nature at will. God can 
stop	the	celestial	bodies	 in	their	tracks:	“He	said	 in	the	sight	of	 Israel,	Sun,	stand	
thou	still	upon	Gibeon;	and	thou,	Moon,	in	the	valley	of	Ajalon”	(Joshua	10:12).	He	
can	 stop	 the	 seas	 from	overflowing:	“will	 ye	not	 tremble	at	my	presence,	which	
have placed the sand for the bound of the sea by a perpetual decree, that it cannot 
pass	it”	(Jeremiah	5:22).	“Their”	divine	ability	to	create	is	matched	by	“their”	ability	
to	“see”	the	future	and	take	steps	to	prepare	the	ground	for	humanity’s	salvation,	
all	qualities	that	equally	apply	to	the	God	of	the	Old	Testament.	“They”	have	the	
ability	to	“search	the	heart	[and]	try	the	reins,	even	to	give	every	man	according	to	
his	ways”	in	order	to	choose	the	right	apostles	for	their	mission	(Jeremiah	17:10).	
“They”	recognize	Murph’s	potential	and	choose	her	when	she	is	still	a	child,	just	as	
God chooses many of his prophets long before their mission can begin.
Conclusion
Interstellar	is	generally	thought	of	as	a	film	that	visually	demonstrate	a	number	of	
scientific	quandaries,	and	it	 is	so	successful	at	doing	so	that	certain	physicists	even	
recommend it to students as a supplement to course materials, noting, for example, 
“Christopher	Nolan’s	science	fiction	movie	Interstellar	offers	a	variety	of	opportuni-
ties	for	students	in	elementary	courses	on	general	relativity	theory.”26
25	 Plato	2005,	109–115.
26	 Oliver/Tunzelmann/Franklin/Thorne	2015,	486.
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However,	alongside	its	evident	focus	on	scientific	solutions	aimed	at	saving	hu-
manity	in	the	face	of	an	impending	catastrophe,	we	also	find	a	significant	number	
of religious motifs, chief among them the apocalyptic narrative of the End of the 
World and the salvation of humanity. This narrative, rooted in religion, dominates 
Western culture and provides inspiration for art, literature, and cinema, especially 
in	the	genre	of	science	fiction,	but	it	is	also	of	interest	to	scientists	and	researchers	
in	various	fields.	Bertrand	Russell	lamented	that	we	cannot	preserve	life	and	that	all	
the	majesty	of	humanity	is	destined	to	be	extinguished	with	the	death	of	the	solar	
system.27	Although	religion	and	science	are	fundamentally	different,	it	is	possible	for	
the rational, the mathematical, and the observational to encounter the emotionally 
powerful myths that provide an explanation for the impenetrable and the mysteri-
ous	in	cases	where	the	attempt	to	understand	scientific	data	is	based	on	patterns	
derived from religious worldviews.
Human thought proceeds according to patterns that we have grown into, but 
because they are often invisible to us, we are unaware of them. Our attempts to 
understand the physical world around us may be made in keeping with patterns that 
we have absorbed through our culture. Western culture has assimilated many of the 
religious thought patterns that characterize the Judeo-Christian narrative and that 
manifest	themselves	in	numerous	cultural	productions,	among	them	the	film	at	the	
center of our discussion.
In	our	analysis	of	the	film	we	have	discerned	four	major	biblical	motifs:	apocalyp-
tical	time	and	the	End	of	Days,	the	story	of	the	spies	and	Noah’s	ark,	present	time	
and	the	ability	to	influence	the	future,	and	being	chosen	to	fulfill	a	mission.	There	
are	other	religious	motifs	alluded	to	in	the	film	which	we	have	not	discussed	here,	
such	as	the	name	given	to	the	“Lazarus”	mission	–	a	clear	allusion	to	the	Lazarus	
story	in	the	Christian	tradition,	found	at	John	11:39–44	–	and	the	fact	that	the	mis-
sion is composed of twelve volunteers, reminiscent of the twelve apostles of Jesus. 
We	might	also	mention	that	Murph	is	first	presented	to	us	as	a	10-year-old	child,	and	
since	the	climactic	scene	in	the	tesseract	takes	place	23	years	later,	we	can	surmise	
that	she	is	33	when	she	saves	the	world,	Jesus’	age	when	he	was	crucified.	Finally,	
and	most	significantly,	we	cannot	ignore	the	fact	that	in	the	end	it	is	love	that	tri-
umphs over space and time. As Paul puts it in his First Epistle to the Corinthians: 
“and	though	I	have	all	faith,	so	that	I	could	remove	mountains,	but	have	not	love,	I	
am	nothing	[…]	Love	[…]	bears	all	things,	believes	all	things,	hopes	all	things,	en-
dures	all	things.	Love	never	fails”	(13:2,	7–8	NKJV).
27	 Kaku	1994,	302.
68 | Bina Nir www.jrfm.eu 2020, 6/1, 53–69
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