[Dave S]

It seems to me that Herzog and Shanks are both saying basically the same thing. They are both saying that there is some historical basis to the Biblical accounts but that the Biblical accounts have exaggerated the historical events

Yeah, what's the difference between a few families and a nation of several million?

[Polybius]

It seems to me that Herzog and Shanks are both saying basically the same thing. They are both saying that there is some historical basis to the Biblical accounts but that the Biblical accounts have exaggerated the historical events.

Yeah, what's the difference between a few families and a nation of several million?

They had a thread about this very topic about four years ago on ANCIEN-L, the mailing list on "History of the Ancient Mediterranean".

The answer to that particular question would have been a lot of archeological evidence left in the dry Sinai Desert where evidence of human camp sites or bits of papyrus can survive for millennia.

Both authors agree that the Biblical accounts exagerated the historical events. They seem to disagree to what extent the accounts did so. It seems to me that the archeological evidence supports Herzog's view on the latter question.