I agree that even Orthodox Jews aren't likely to reduce their scriptures to mere literal reports. But my point was that Christian literalism is a curdling of the Jewish preoccupation with the mythical, spiritual, or moral importance of their history. The obsession with history starts with Judaism (or with the Jewish borrowing of Zoroastrian process theology). Jews find God active in history even though God transcends the material world. So God is both present and hidden, both familiar and bizarre. That's why Jews can be the chosen ones even if they keep losing to greater earthly powers. This emphasis on history is crucial to the Jewish identity. It's not a mere literal truth for them as much as it's an existential one.