I came across this article from 2010 stating that, not only has Egyptologist Galit Dayan found evidence for the biblical plagues in Egypt, but evidence for Moses as well. That seems like pretty big news to me; certainly a lot of religious bloggers were quick to latch onto the story, but I'm having trouble finding peer reviews of her work.
I notice she mentions "manuscripts" (plural) as her evidence and I can't help but wonder if she's trying to build a case by prooftexting from various manuscripts.
Any thoughts on Dr. Dayan's work and theories?
You may be interested in some of the threads in the 'Is the Bible historical?' section of the Popular Questions pages.
In the book the Templars by Michael Haag he does an excellent job of tracing the heritage of the groups which later became Israelites.
He argues that the word hebrew comes from an Egyptian word for slave laborer or mercenary (it's been some time and I do not have te book with me). Positing that Hebrews were not a people as described in the Old Testament, but rather a social class of laborers and wage slaves who left Egypt to find more profitable lands.
When they found Jerusalem inhabited by the jebusites, they simply set up settlements around the surrounding area, split into tribes, and over time assimilated the jebusites as part of their culture.
Again the source for this is the Templars by Michael Haag, and you can find all of this information in the first two or three chapters.
Hope you find the answer your looking for OP.