In AD 26, Judah Ben-Hur (Charlton Heston) is a wealthy prince and merchant in Jerusalem, who lives with his mother, Miriam (Martha Scott); his sister, Tirzah (Cathy O'Donnell); their loyal slave, Simonides (Sam Jaffe); and his daughter, Esther (Haya Harareet), who loves Ben-Hur but is betrothed to another. His childhood friend, the Roman citizen Messala (Stephen Boyd), is now a tribune. After several years away from Jerusalem, Messala returns as the new commander of the Roman garrison. Messala believes in the glory of Rome and its imperial power, while Ben-Hur is devoted to his faith and the freedom of the Jewish people.
Charlton Heston as Judah Ben-Hur
During the parade for the new governor of Judea, Valerius Gratus, some loose tiles fall from the roof of Ben-Hur's house. Gratus is thrown from his spooked horse and nearly killed. Although Messala knows this was an accident, he condemns Ben-Hur to the galleys and imprisons Miriam and Tirzah. By punishing a known friend and prominent citizen, he hopes to intimidate the Jewish populace. Ben-Hur swears to take revenge.
After three years as a galley slave, Ben-Hur is assigned to the flagship of the Roman Consul Quintus Arrius (Jack Hawkins), who has been charged with destroying a fleet of Macedonian pirates. Arrius admires Ben-Hur's determination and self-discipline and offers to train him as a gladiator or charioteer. Ben-Hur declines the offer, declaring that God will aid him in his quest for vengeance. When the Roman fleet encounters the Macedonians, Arrius orders all the rowers except Ben-Hur to be chained to their oars. Arrius' galley is rammed and sunk, but Ben-Hur unchains the other rowers, and rescues Arrius. In despair, Arrius wrongly believes the battle ended in defeat and attempts to atone in the Roman way by "falling on his sword", but Ben-Hur stops him. They are rescued, and Arrius is credited with the Roman fleet's victory.
Arrius successfully petitions Emperor Tiberius (George Relph) to free Ben-Hur, and adopts him as his son. Another year passes. Wealthy again, Ben-Hur learns Roman ways and becomes a champion charioteer, but still longs for his family and homeland.
Hugh Griffith as Arab Sheik Ilderim
Ben-Hur returns to Judea. Along the way, he meets Balthasar (Finlay Currie) and an Arab, Sheik Ilderim (Hugh Griffith). The sheik has heard of Ben-Hur's prowess as a charioteer, and asks him to drive his quadriga in a race before the new Judean governor Pontius Pilate (Frank Thring). Ben-Hur declines, even after he learns that Messala will also compete.
Ben-Hur returns to his home in Jerusalem. He meets Esther, and learns her arranged marriage did not occur and that she is still in love with him. He visits Messala and demands his mother and sister's freedom. The Romans discover that Miriam and Tirzah contracted leprosy in prison, and expel them from the city. The women beg Esther to conceal their condition from Ben-Hur so that he may remember them as they were before, so she tells him that they died. It is then that he changes his mind and decides to seek vengeance on Messala by competing against him in the chariot race.
During the chariot race, Messala drives a chariot with blades on the hubs to tear apart competing vehicles; he attempts to destroy Ben-Hur's chariot but destroys his own instead. Messala is fatally injured, while Ben-Hur wins the race. Before dying, Messala tells Ben-Hur that "the race is not over" and that he can find his family "in the Valley of the Lepers, if you can recognize them." Ben-Hur visits the nearby leper colony, where (hidden from their view) he sees his mother and sister.
Blaming Roman rule for his family's fate, Ben-Hur rejects his patrimony and Roman citizenship. Learning that Tirzah is dying, Ben-Hur and Esther take her and Miriam to see Jesus, but the trial of Jesus before Pontius Pilate has begun. Ben-Hur witnesses the crucifixion of Jesus, and Miriam and Tirzah are miraculously healed during the rainstorm following the crucifixion. Ben-Hur declares, "And I felt his [Jesus's] voice take the sword out of my hand."