Just how stupid were the ancient Israelites?

[The Valkyrie]

It's all symbolism, imho. A story told to convey a certain message. Maybe there was slavery of the Jews in Egypt and a man named Moses who helped lead them to freedom, but if that's the case, the story, as it is told, is exaggerated to make a point.

This I agree with.

There may have been some Hebrew slaves in Egypt, but certainly not hundreds of thousands. And there is no archaeological evidence to support a large group crossing the Sinai for 40 years.