I keep this handy in "Favorites" for just these questions.
http://www.worldagesarchive.com/Referenc...ers%29.htm
If this article piques your interest you might move on to:
http://www.amazon.com/Bible-Unearthed-Ar...0684869136
http://www.worldagesarchive.com/Referenc...ers%29.htm
Quote:In the last quarter century or so, archaeologists have seen one settled assumption after another concerning who the ancient Israelites were and where they came from proved false. Rather than a band of invaders who fought their way into the Holy Land, the Israelites are now thought to have been an 'indigenous culture that developed west of the Jordan River around 1200 B.C. Abraham, Isaac, and the other patriarchs appear to have been spliced together out of various pieces of local lore.
If this article piques your interest you might move on to:
http://www.amazon.com/Bible-Unearthed-Ar...0684869136