Ben Hur vs Ben-Hur: Which Should You Read?
Both live on shelves: History of Biblical events, Jesus christ, Rome, Bible, Christian Fiction, Historical Fiction
Ben Hur
“The Jebel es Zubleh is a mountain fifty miles and more in length, and so narrow that its tracery on the map gives it a likeness to a caterpillar crawling from the south to the north.”
A bestseller since 1880...The classic saga of the Roman EmpireFrom a thrilling sea battle to its famous chariot race to the agony of the Crucifixion, this is the epic tale of a prince who became a slave and by a twist…
vs
Ben-Hur
Ben-Hur is a heroic story of a fictional hero named Judah Ben-Hur, a Jewish nobleman in Jerusalem.  Because of an unfortunate accident, Ben-Hur is sent to slave in the mines while his family is sent to leprosy…
The verdict
- Ratings are close across the board — any is a safe pick by score.
- Ben-Hur is the quickest read — about 3 hours vs 10 for Ben Hur.
- Ben Hur has the widest readership — 38510 ratings behind its score.
How to choose
Scores by source
| Ben Hur | Ben-Hur | |
|---|---|---|
| Goodreads | 4.0 (38510) | 4.0 (1703) |
| Hardcover | 3.7 (30) | 3.8 (6) |
| Apple Books | 4.5 (32) | 4.5 (205) |
Reception
| Ben Hur | Ben-Hur | |
|---|---|---|
| Ratings | 38510 | 1703 |
| Editions | 201 | 65 |
| Film adaptations | 1 | 1 |
| Want to read | 29314 | 29404 |
| Reading it now | 3070 | — |
| Written reviews | 1700 | 1703 |
| Wikipedia attention | 844 | 18350 |
| Pages | 560 | 208 |