Cadellin, I like your quote: "absence of evidence is not evidence of absence." Today we have the Jews, scattered over the length and breadth of the earth, and the militant Republic of Israel. This is definitely not a coincidence. So where there is smoke, there is fire. Granted, the Biblical accounts have come a long way, and have been edited multiple times, but that doesn't mean the stories are not based on fact. I like the term "allow for the benefit of the doubt." I will go along with the Biblical accounts until they are proven wrong.
Again your article reminds us of "duplicate and sometimes triplicate accounts, multiple literary styles, inconsistencies in content and anachronisms." But that is to be expected from oral traditions that have later been put down in writing and edited by various persons for various reasons. That's why your article cautions: "Accurate historical documentation was thus not a defining element... Any attempt to make use of this material in reconstructing the prehistory of Israel requires great caution." This is a balanced and objective author. This cannot always be said of WT writings that have their own agenda.