Jewish mysticism scholar Rachel Elior recently wrote about her belief that the Dead Sea Scrolls, thought to be written by a group known as the Essenes, were actually written by a group of priests who had been cast out of the Temple of Jerusalem in second century B.C.
Cave in Qumran
Though there is much debate, Prof. Elior has maintained her position that the Essenes do not refer to themselves in the text of all 930 scroll fragments and may in fact be the mythical creation of historians of the first century AD.
In a recent posting on the blog of Dr. Jim West Dr. Elior provides a link to an online version of the Dead Sea Scrolls urging us to read them for ourselves.
I have studied a bit of biblical Hebrew, but I think that read would be well over my head. 
A Time article dated March 16, 2009 explains Elior’s position.
Links of Interest:
Out of the Desert: A Time Magazine article from 1957. 10 pages on the Dead Sea Scrolls.
For other interesting reads, check out the list of books at this mini-store.
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