The Torah, ("Pentateuch" in Greek), is comprised of the first five books of the Bible. The authorship of these books, (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy), is by tradition attributed to Moses. Although the issue of authorship is likely impossible to determine, questions as to the time of the Torah's origin are potentially answered through a variety of historical means.

In the last century or so, biblical textual criticism has led a number of scholars to the opinion that Torah did not originate until the first millenium BC, perhaps after the return of Jews from Babylonian exile, (~ 500 BC). This type of dating quite obviously detracts from the notion that the books relate a contemporaneous historical narrative from the late second millenium, and tends to relegate them, (and their presumed author) to the category of legend or myth.

Archeology often provides physical evidence in support of Bible narratives, but it has its limitations. Chief among these is "the argument from silence" that  presumes that a lack of physical evidence for a report or event is itself an evidence that said report or event did not occur. For example, since there is little archeological evidence (so far) for the existence of large numbers of Jews in ancient Egypt and for their exodus , narratives reporting these were likely just "tales" spun by later writers who wished to invent a compelling origins story.

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While the search for artifacts in the sand remains interesting and important, an equally important approach is to do the opposite... delving deeply into the text of the Bible to see how it fits with the archeological record. Quite interestingly, theTorah itself has many indicators within it that point to an origin in the late second millenium BC.

Phraseology

Much of the phraseology of the Torah appears to fit well with that of Egypt during the "New Kingdom," ( ~1500-1100 BC). Examples include statements such as the enemy being destroyed by "a mighty right arm," or by a "mighty out-stretched hand." These were phrases used commonly by Egyptian chroniclers to describe the victories of New Kingdom Pharaohs. The Torah's assertion that God destroyed Pharaoh with His "mighty out-stretched hand" strongly suggests that the Torah author was using terms common to the second millenial society. Similarly, the concept of "destroying enemies like chaff" was a New Kingdom Egyptian idiom that became incorporated into the text of Torah and later biblical writings.

It is also of note that Deuteronomy, (Moses' final dissertation to the Hebrew people), has nearly the exact form of treaties we have from the New Kingdom period .

Geographical Clues

The Torah appears to show the writer's knowledge of Egyptian geography while also revealing a dirth of knowledge about Canaan. Redundancies such as reference to Shechem, "which is in the land of Canaan," do not sound like the words of a later Judean author, but rather, someone who lives distant from Israel. Torah also relates that the Israelites longed to go back to Egypt to eat "leeks and onion," a striking corroboration of the report of Herodotus that ancient Egyptian inscriptions reported "workmen being fed leeks and onions."

It will be recalled that God prescribed the use of acacia wood for construction of the tabernacle and the Ark of the Covenant. Interestingly, this wood species is common in Egypt and the Sinai, but is not found in Palestine. Also, many of the animals whose use as food was proscribed are native to those southern areas and not Israel.

Notable Absences

Great debate exists about the identity of the Pharaoh of the Exodus, (see Bible Narratives), but the Torah provides no name to help us. This absence is itself revealing, since to use a name would more likely place the Torah in either the early second millenium (before 1500 BC), or in the first millenioum, (after ~ 1000 BC). We know this becase it was a New Kingdom Egyptian practice to not use the ruler's name, but instead, the generic title of "Pharaoh."

Another important figure un-named in Torah is Ba'al. During the period of Judges and Kings in Palestine, Jewish writers were continually describing the contention between Israelites of true faith ( in YHWH), and idolators who worshipped the Canannite Ba'al. The absence of reference to this deity in the Torah, (excepting the singular use of the term in referring to Canaan), again suggests that late authorship is unlikely.

What's In a Name?

Moses is not a Hebrew name, but a commonly used name (or suffix) from New Kingdom Egypt. As "mosis," "mose" (or the Hebrew "moshe"), it meant "born of," and found common expression in the names of late seconnd millenium Pharaohs, (e.g. Ahmose. Thutmose or Thutmosis). It would appear quite sensible then, to assume that a character with the name of "Moses" would be found in the Egypt of the New Kingdom period.

Summary

The language of the Torah together with the things that it describes would appear to provide strong evidence for an origin during the New Kingdom period of ancient Egypt, placing it's writing between the years 1500 BC and 1100 BC.