Questions of the origins of the Jewish religion, traditions, and practices have been discussed a lot lately. Sigmund Freud, the father of modern psychology, and an Austrian Jew who had to flee Austria during the Nazi annexation, wrote his final work (a masterpiece) on the speculative psychological history of the Jewish people. Thematically, this final book, Moses and Monotheism, varies greatly from all of Freud’s previous work; although, an earlier work, Totem and Taboo, shares certain theoretical elements.
In Moses and Monotheism, Freud speculates that the religious tradition of the Jews is an amalgamation of at least two previous traditions (maybe more), namely a monotheistic Egyptian sect and a volcano god of one of the Canaanite tribes in Midian. I personally believe there were other influences, which caused additions, edits, and retractions to the Torah as we have it today.
While I cannot agree with all of Freud’s speculations here, there is much Truth contained in it, and it is a very valuable addition to our understanding of psychology, religion, and history.
http://www.amazon.com/Moses-Monotheism-Sigmund-Freud/dp/157898937X
http://www.archive.org/download/http://archive.org/details/mosesandmonothei032233mbp