A large # of people “telling a story” has very little intrinsic value (however, this is not the Kuzari argument).
A large # of people claiming to be eyewitnesses does have significant value (also not the Kuzari argument).
A chain of a large # of eyewitnesses (as in the case of the Kuzari argument), falls somewhere in between.
However, there are many other (far more) crucial factors such as:
The nature of the claim (e.g. plausibility, self-serving, compatibility with other information)
The amount of time & conditions (e.g. peaceful/tumultuous) thru which the tradition has passed.
The number of links in the chain
The quality/reliability of the links in the chain
In the case of the Kuzari argument (which is the underlying background the post), we’re dealing with:
a supernatural claim;
a narrative that does not fit with other known information (not just in the exodus narrative, but the biblical narrative in general);
a huge gap of time (~1,000 years from the claimed Sinai Theophany c. 1300 BC to the 2nd temple era, which included 2 exiles and returns) during which, not only is there no evidence of a widespread belief in the Sinai theophany, there is evidence against the notion, not only archeologically, but even from the biblical narrative itself. This leaves plenty of time for some event that was: a. natural (e.g. earthquake, volcano, etc.), and/or b. experienced by a small number of people to evolve into a mass theophany.
A large # of people “telling a story” has very little intrinsic value (however, this is not the Kuzari argument).
A large # of people claiming to be eyewitnesses does have significant value (also not the Kuzari argument).
A chain of a large # of eyewitnesses (as in the case of the Kuzari argument), falls somewhere in between.
However, there are many other (far more) crucial factors such as:
The nature of the claim (e.g. plausibility, self-serving, compatibility with other information)
The amount of time & conditions (e.g. peaceful/tumultuous) thru which the tradition has passed.
The number of links in the chain
The quality/reliability of the links in the chain
In the case of the Kuzari argument (which is the underlying background the post), we’re dealing with:
a supernatural claim;
a narrative that does not fit with other known information (not just in the exodus narrative, but the biblical narrative in general);
a huge gap of time (~1,000 years from the claimed Sinai Theophany c. 1300 BC to the 2nd temple era, which included 2 exiles and returns) during which, not only is there no evidence of a widespread belief in the Sinai theophany, there is evidence against the notion, not only archeologically, but even from the biblical narrative itself. This leaves plenty of time for some event that was:
a. natural (e.g. earthquake, volcano, etc.), and/or
b. experienced by a small number of people
to evolve into a mass theophany.