http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_arhs.htm
Considering the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Hebrew Scriptures (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy) the most extreme views are:
The Pentateuch | Common conservative religious beliefs | Common beliefs of secular archaeologists & religious liberals |
Accuracy | Totally accurate, inerrant, & infallible. Contains no mistakes. Inspired by God. | Mixture of ancient myths, some valid history, & legends. |
Author(s) | Moses | Documentary Hypothesis: Four unknown authors + one Redactor; |
Date of writing | 15th century BCE | 10th to 6th century BCE * |
People: | ||
Adam, Eve, Noah, Isaac, Ishmael, Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, etc. | Real people who lived their lives as described in the Bible | Mythical, legendary people who probably never existed. |
Philistines | Existed in 19th century BCE (Gen 21:32) | First entered Palestine well into the 1st millennium BCE |
Early history of the Israelites | Grew from 12 men and their families into a large culture while in Egypt | Originally Canaanites; developed a separate society within Canaan |
Strong military presence in Palestine, late 2nd millennium BCE | Philistines. (Egyptian presence is not mentioned.) | Egyptians. (Philistines did not arrive until well into the 1st millennium BCE) |
Places: | ||
Garden of Eden | Where Adam & Eve lived | Non-existent place |
Mount Sinai | Where Moses received the Ten Commandments | Non-existent place |
Beersheba, & other towns | Existed in 19th century BCE (Genesis 21:14) | Did not exist until many centuries later. |
Events: | ||
Flood of Noah | Covered the world | No evidence it happened; may have been a memory of a local flood. |
Jews as slaves in Egypt | Happened as described | Little or no evidence. |
The Exodus | Happened as described | No evidence it happened |
40 years in the desert | Happened as described | No evidence it happened |
Notes:
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A few archaeologists and “minimalist” Old Testament scholars argue that the Pentateuch was completed as late as the 2nd century BCE. |
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The remains of houses similar to that used by ancient Hebrews have been found in Egypt. These may have belonged to Hebrew slaves or hired workers. |
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