On the subject of Hell and Salvation

[Belacqua]

The pentatuch was composed in or around 1.000 BC

The summary of the book fredd linked us to gives a much later date. Of course the book may be wrong.

You are right that at least one of the stories is based on a very old source. 

Also I was interested to know how we can be sure that illiterate people, with a terminus ante quem of 1200BC, composed stories that weren't written down until centuries later, and which contain details that they couldn't have known. If a story can be found in another literate culture that constitutes evidence, but illiterate goat herders tend not to leave behind written records. 

I've downloaded the book, and I'll compare it to the reference materials I have on hand.