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Yet another thought on the library
If for the sake of argument we allow the existence of a library in Cave 4,
we still have to confront the existence of documents in all those other
caves that were clearly not "libraries". Let's cut Cave 4 out of the
discussion and ask why were documents placed in other caves (which were even
more difficult to access than Cave 4). It's clear from some of the caves
that the texts were carefully placed there; jars would suggest preservation.
If there were in fact scribes working at Qumran there would not be the need
for preservation in jars, for the documents last a long enough time and they
could easily be copied in that time.
There is also that evidence from Eusebius and the Nestorian writer that
ancient documents were placed in jars in caves in/near Jericho. Although
there is corroborating evidence for texts preserved in jars in caves as in a
few caves at Qumran, there is no similar evidence for libraries in caves.
A Cave 4 library doesn't seem to be very helpful in solving the general
problem.
Ian Hutchesson
PS, is anyone still arguing for a library hanging off the "cliff"?