I really appreciate the whole manipulation aspect of your theory. Belief systems have long been an amazing way to control people.
My take on the whole thing: The Bible was written in an attempt to solidfy the Jewish nation. Every nation, when it becomes a nation, needs their history. They need their legends. I think about Guy Fawkes in the UK or Paul Revere in the US. Stories? Yeah, a little credibility, but ultimately, these stories serve to distinguish a people, to define their past and thus....their future.
Genesis, the account of Adam and Eve, purpose: The Jews were blessed from the beginning, they had everything in that little garden. They were separate, distinct, they had a one-on-one relationship with the Creator. But, they blew it. Thus, the fall and man, the Jews, needed to return to their Creator, reestablish their kinship with God. (They were not alone in the world, afterall, where did Cain get his wife? Why was he SOOO worried about the stigma of having killed his brother and the thought that someone would strike him down? )
The stories of Abraham and the patriarchs, the Founding Fathers of the Jewish state. This is where legends are born. God is in contact with each of them, they contend with God, they are blessed and chosen....Manifest Destiny if you will.
The Mosaic Law: Now that you have a defined past and associated legends, you must CONTROL the people. This is where we both agree significantly. The Law, however, is not simply control. It is also an attempt at defining your difference, nation building, if you will. A man will fight to protect himself and his family, but of what good would it be to fight for a country unless he believes so firmly that his country is more than just some land, it is the REASON for his existence. The Mosaic Law does this by defining its prophet as THE prophet, such a prophet that good and evil, God and Satan, contend for the location of his final resting place!
The Prophets: Revisionism at its finest, propaganda if you will. A Messianic theme that will ultimately end with the Jewish state in paradisaic conditions, i.e. where this all began in Eden.
When the Old Testament is read with such a viewpoint, it takes on a completely different and yet understandable theme. It is a political gem, replete with nation building, genocide in the name of patriotism, manifest destiny....and, as you say, CONTROL.
Just some thoughts,
SOP