You would not be the first to offer that suggestion. I have always found the concept attractive, but I am no way well read enough about Ahkenhaten and the fall of his cult to draw any conclusion
To me, there are fascinating synchronisms that connect the Atenists and the Yahwists.
Please read this in full.
http://www.seanet.com/~realistic/psalm104.html
I'll extract the point from it that I wanted to make:
The Eight points of comparison: Psalm 104 and the Hymn to Aten
The following text in [--] is from Psalm 104 while the remainder is quoted translation by J.H.Breasted, from Cambridge Ancient History, Vol. II, Chapters 5 & 6.. and "The Rock Tombs of Tell el Armarna", Archeological Survey, Egyptian Exploration Society (6vol, 1903) N. de G. Davis.
PSALM 104
[20. Thou makest darkness, and it is night, Wherein all the beasts of the forest creep forth. 21. The young Lions roar after their prey, And seek their food from God.] The tradition of Egyptian, Hindu, and Hebrew cultures starts the day at sunset. Today the day normally starts at sunrise.
AKENATEN'S THE HYMN TO THE SUN
When thou settest in the western horizon of the sky,
[1st comparison, verse 20]
The earth is in darkness like the dead.
They sleep in their chambers
Their heads are wrapped up.
Their nostrils are stopped
And none see the other.
While all their things are stolen
Which are under their heads
And they know it not
Every Lion cometh forth from his den
[2nd comparison, verse 21]
All Serpents they sting
Darkness The world is in silence.
He that made them resteth in his horizon.
[22. The Sun riseth, they get them away,
and lay them down in their dens. 23. Man
goeth forth unto his work And to his labor until
the evening.]
Bright is the earth when thou riseth in the horizon.
[3rd , 22]
When thou shinest as Aten by day
Thou drivest away the darkness.
When thou sendest forth thy rays
The two lands (Egypt) are in daily festivity.
Awake and standing upon their feet
When thou has raised them up.
Their limbs bathed they take their clothing
Their arms uplifted in adoration to thy dawning
Then in all the world they do their work.. [4th, 23]
All cattle rest upon their pasturage
The trees and the plants flourish
[12. By them the birds of the heavens have their
habitation. They sing among the branches.]
The birds flutter in their marshes, [5th, 12]
Their wings uplifted in adoration to thee.
All sheep dance on their feet.
All winged things fly,
They live when thou hast shone upon them.
[25. Yonder is the sea great and wide. Wherein
are things creeping innumerable. Both small and
great beasts. 26. There go the ships.]
The barges sail upstream and downstream alike.
[6th, 26]
Every highway is open because thou dawnest.
The fish in the river leap before thee.
Thy rays are in the midst of the great green sea.
Creator of the germ in woman
Maker of the seed in man
Giving life to the son in the body of his mother
Soothing him that he may not weep.
Nurse (even) in the womb.
[29. Thou hidest thy face, they are troubled.
Thou takest away their breath and they die.
And return to their dust.]
Giver of breath to animals, every one that he maketh
When he cometh forth from the womb [7th, 29]
On the day of their birth
Thou openest his mouth in speech
[27. These wait all for thee. That thou may give them
food in due season.]
Thou suppliest his necessities.[8th, 27]
When the fledgling in the egg chirps in the shell
Thou givest him breath there-in to preserve him alive.
When thou hast brought him together
to (the point of) bursting it in the egg
To chirp with all his might,
He goeth about on his two feet
When he hath come forth therefrom.
How manifold are thy works,
They are hidden from before (us)
O Sole God, whose powers no other possesseth.
Thou didst create the earth according to thy heart
While thou wast alone
Man, all cattle, large and small
All that are upon the earth
That go about on their feet
(All) That are on high
That fly with their wings
The foreign countries, Syria and Kush,
The land of Egypt
Thou settest every man into his place
Thou suppliest their necessities
Everyone has his possessions
And his days are reckoned
The tongues are divers in speech
Their forms likewise and their skins are distinguished
(For) thou makest different the strangers."
http://katestange.net/egypt/literature.htm
For those who may not know, Akhenaten was considered by the orthodox priesthood to be a heretic, having changed his beliefs to reflect the primacy of the Aten over the other Egyptian deities. In fact, he turned his back on the worship of Amon, making it illegal in Egypt. He moved the capital to the city of Akhetaten (now called el-Amarna).
http://freepages.history.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~rgrosser/amarna/neywetaten/index.htm
The Hymn to the Aten was created during that heretical period. What there is no explanation for in the Egyptian historical record, is why did Akhenaten turn his back on his family (changing his name from Amenhotep IV to Akhenaten) and turn his back on his gods (making the worship of the old gods punishable by death? His was not a popular move, and certainly, in Egypt at least, did not last beyond his life.
So, the thing that is clear is that these texts are similar enough to conclude that one borrowed from the other. The only unanswered question is from which direction the inspiration was drawn. I have certain ideas about that, but of course, nothing unassailable, and certainly more speculative than I want to get into here.
)