We are an offset of the Jewish religion, remember that. But the Israelites have only organized themselves in to a separate Jewish sect, after they were in Babylon or Persia, and they have evolved taking in a lot of the Zoroastrian religious beliefs; the after life, angels, demons, prophets, etc. Also the Abrahamic religions, Jews, Muslims and Christians, are interlinked in their beliefs.

The whole point is, The Zoroastrian religion was a monotheist religion well before Judaism. We know them today as the Parsees, in India. They were kicked out when Islam was the chief religion in Persia.

Just Google yourself, I knew this from my studies, but I checked before I wrote these messages. So if Moses wrote the first book, just remember the Babylonians wrote it well before the Hebrew Bible. Their first laws in Babylonia was similar to our laws today, i.e. The Commandments.
And while lots of mythology, remember GilmaMesh. People in ancient times had little knowledge of how the world evolved and was formed but somehow they managed to get the processes of evolution almost correct is amazing. In Genesis. Their world view, but not ours anymore.

NNS, Bush Bunny is only a reader not a genuine middle East archaeologist. I have Orthodox Jewish close relatives some living in Israel, and their religion has no resemblance to Zoroastrian, their beliefs were established during the tabernacle period in the wilderness under Aaron around 1,200 BCE. They may have adopted aspects of other monotheistic faiths. As Moses introduces YHWH [no gender] as God compared to El Shaddai a female God giving life worshipped by the patriarchs. Zoroastrian religion is based on the Avesta, ancient scriptures written in old Iranian which have been corrupted and damaged over time. The Zoroastrian religion is estimated to have begun sometime around 1500 BCE. Though many Hebrews kept views from Egypt religions and surrounding nations as evidenced by conflicts in the wilderness. The Orthodox Jew does not believe in demons [mini gods], angels, resurrection or devils. Some of Zoroastrian beliefs was introduced by Roman Catholic to Christianity from Persian syncretism. Many Jewish returnees to Jerusalem did take with them some Babylonian culture but the orthodox remained true to their beliefs. https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-topics/exodus/exodus-fact-or-fiction/

Thanks for the info Josephus I don't have relatives to confirm my findings but are close to what you've said. Zoroaster religion being about God being a female, as where the religion originated is news to me, thank you for that.

Bush Bunny. I'm inclined to agree with Josephus on your qualifications as an archeologist. I've heard the kinds of conclusions that your presenting before. What I'm asking for is the data to back those conclusions up. If you have something you've seen or studied that goes into the details instead of just the summery of findings then I'd be very interested to see if they have merrit. Otherwise it's just a popular competing theory to discredit the bible. There are already plenty of those around that seem to show up in bunches. If one taken the time to disprove 5 more are waiting to bounce back with just as much evidance as the ones before it. If none of them have any relevant data to back them up, then there's no more point in my opinion to discuss them. All they are is propranganda from that point on.

The bible on the other hand has positive support to it through archeological finds. Things that support events by the discriptions in geography, or in simular history recorded in other countries at the time. I'm reading a study bible that has a historical aspect to it, do it points to archeology and other findings that add more debth to the scripture. If you'd like I can look through it to give you some relics to google and reconsider. In the mean time I ask for you to do the same. I'm interested in the data and the findings, not the conclusions. I can make up my own mind on their merit.

I have studied archaeology and palaeoanthropology, with a BA, and GCA majoring in arch and pant, and ancient history. You want data, well get your computer to Google 'Who wrote the Hebrew Bible' and related historical arguments.

I am talking about today's views on religion and how they have evolved over the many centuries. Why didn't the Jews erect a third temple if they were convinced of their beliefs. This was in 70 AD, and why when they took the West Wall of Jerusalem, didn't they blew up the Golden domed mosque that was built over part of the second temple except the weeping wall. This was suggested by the Chief Rabbi, and the soldiers refused to do it. Nowadays, no Jew is allowed on the grounds of that Mosque, and it is guarded by Israeli soldiers.

There is so much hatred and dread between orthodox Jews and Muslims in Jerusalem, that the history of their religion is diverse and truth be known shatter some of the hard Orthodoxy of both religions.

I know this, I had a school friend whose husband held the chair of Hebrew University in Jerusalem, she also had a MA too. They were not Orthodox, but she said to me, we don't go to the Orthodox sector on a Saturday, or we will be stoned. Unless the Palestinians are acting up and then we walk. She died very young but she told me what it was like living in the so called, 'Holy City'

Abraham had two sons, the first Ishmael was driven out by Abraham's wife who had Isaac. They were saved by an angel in the desert and since then the Muslims believe it is Ishmael who God saved from sacrifice, not Isaac. Gosh if religion is always correct, that is a bit of difference, what.

The ancient Hebrew religions have no influence on todays Orthodoxy or Conservative Jews. Like Christianity when science shows this or that can't be as it is written, they change it. Like Evolution vs Creationism.

Just some minor corrections:

Orthodox Jews do believe in angels: http://www.thoughtco.com/jewish-guardian-angel-prayers-124055

Some suggest that "El Shadai" is linguistically derived from the root 'Sh-D-D', meaning "powerful", while most believe that it is derived from Acadian 'Shadu' or "mountain", i.e. "Lord of the Mountain".

Yuyutsu, Exodus 6: 1 - 4 is where the lord's name is changed from El Shaddai to YHWH. It does not show in the English but the Hebrew shows it. El Shaddai is identified as a many breasted all powerful Mother which the patriarchs worshipped from Abraham till Moses. YHWH is associated with fire, as in the burning bush. Mother represents life giving and nurturing; fire represents a purifying and elementary change.