there is no extrabiblical evidence that there were two million Hebrews at Sinai, and even if there were, there is no evidence other than the Torah itself of what they saw or heard.
Except that there is! There is very strong evidence that Canaan was conquered within the immediate time-frame of this Revelation (within a century, but that's about as accurate as layer-based /pottery-shard archeology gets), and further strong evidence that this "force", within the same general time-frame, was to whatever varying extent observing the Law and customs as set down in the Torah. I pointed out elsewhere two important such finds: Joshua's Altar on Mt. Eval and The Gilgal. The first is thoroughly researched and dated - I have a fascinating book [in Hebrew] written by Prof. Zertal who found it (archaeological evidence shows that the extensive sacrifices on site, were all only from Kosher animals), and the second is a much more recent find, which as such, is less well studied.
But let us presume, for the sake of argument, that it wasn't the Torah that was received at Sinai, or even that Sinai, did not even happen. We do know that at a certain point in time T, we have well established evidence that millions of people accepted the Torah, not only as Dogma, but as factual history. This T is very close time-wise to the actual Exodus time-line laid out, in the Torah, and continuous through the books of Joshua and the Early Prophets. At what point along that time-line, does the Cabal of Jewish Elders whip out these writings and declare "From this point onward, this is now our Official History [Tm]. Learn it, love it, and forget whatever your grandparents told you previously. This [and only this] is How It Was [Tm]" and manage to do so, in a culture that has skepticism and Asking Big Questions [Tm], practically built in to it? The smaller T is, or the larger the population gets, the less probable this becomes, wouldn't you agree? Most skeptics place T at Exodus+ ~800, with the later Kings, some agree to +400 (First Temple). The above evidence drops it to at most +100.
Taking Islam, Christianity or Mormonism (to name a modern example) in comparison, how many adherents were there at Revelation +50, or even +200. Now take those numbers and subtract those that came by this Revelation, by outside coercion, internal decree (Such as Constantine in 4th century Rome). How many of those remaining can say "This is my [great] grandparents we're talking about", very few. Sword-point can be extremely convincing in enabling one to See the Light [Tm]. This if anything, is why Islam spread so rapidly. While Christendom also had Jihad equivalents in the Crusades, this was, in reality, more about politics and internal power-games, than actually Spreading the Faith, which is clearly apparent in that for the most part, the general public did not get behind the Crusades half as much as the Muslim public did. [ In fact, this can probably be said about practically ALL wars originating in Christian countries. Which is why, the USA is presently doing so badly in Afghanistan and Iraq. ]
Not so
But let us presume, for the sake of argument, that it wasn't the Torah that was received at Sinai, or even that Sinai, did not even happen. We do know that at a certain point in time T, we have well established evidence that millions of people accepted the Torah, not only as Dogma, but as factual history. This T is very close time-wise to the actual Exodus time-line laid out, in the Torah, and continuous through the books of Joshua and the Early Prophets. At what point along that time-line, does the Cabal of Jewish Elders whip out these writings and declare "From this point onward, this is now our Official History [Tm]. Learn it, love it, and forget whatever your grandparents told you previously. This [and only this] is How It Was [Tm]" and manage to do so, in a culture that has skepticism and Asking Big Questions [Tm], practically built in to it? The smaller T is, or the larger the population gets, the less probable this becomes, wouldn't you agree? Most skeptics place T at Exodus+ ~800, with the later Kings, some agree to +400 (First Temple). The above evidence drops it to at most +100.
Taking Islam, Christianity or Mormonism (to name a modern example) in comparison, how many adherents were there at Revelation +50, or even +200. Now take those numbers and subtract those that came by this Revelation, by outside coercion, internal decree (Such as Constantine in 4th century Rome). How many of those remaining can say "This is my [great] grandparents we're talking about", very few. Sword-point can be extremely convincing in enabling one to See the Light [Tm]. This if anything, is why Islam spread so rapidly. While Christendom also had Jihad equivalents in the Crusades, this was, in reality, more about politics and internal power-games, than actually Spreading the Faith, which is clearly apparent in that for the most part, the general public did not get behind the Crusades half as much as the Muslim public did. [ In fact, this can probably be said about practically ALL wars originating in Christian countries. Which is why, the USA is presently doing so badly in Afghanistan and Iraq. ]