Vendyl Jones

Vendyl Miller Jones (May 29, 1930 – December 27, 2010) was an American Noahide scholar who directed archaeological searches for biblical artifacts such as the Ark of the Covenant.

Biography

Vendyl was born in Sudan, Texas. He received his bachelor's degree in divinity, and a master's degree in theology from the Baptist Bible College also studying at the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary,Archaeologist Vendyl Jones Speaks About His Research and Discoveries
Lali Dzhanashvili, Baruch College (The City University of New York) Newspaper, October 27, 2003 (The Ticker website)Raider of the Lost Artifacts
Karen Boren, Deseret News, June 25, 1992 (Deseret News website) He later took advanced studies at the Bowen Biblical Museum under Dr. & Mrs. William Bowen and Biblical Archaeologist, W.F. Albright.

Between 1955 and 1956, Jones was pastor of the Dungan Chapel Baptist Church located on the border of Virginia and North Carolina. Vendyl came to believe that many apparently anti-Jewish statements in the gospels were "omitted in more ancient manuscripts" basing this claim on the "marginal notes" of an unidentified Bible.

In October 1956, Jones resigned the pastorate and moved to Greenville, South Carolina where he began his studies in the Talmud-Torah (a children's elementary religious school) under Rabbi Henry Barneis. This education was augmented by learning with the lat
Rabbi Max Stauber
of Spartanburg. As his knowledge increased, so did the realization that all of his earlier studies had been very incomplete. Jones eventually developed a distinctive religious outlook which was based on the Noahide Laws. This stresses the need for gentiles to follow the moral laws that Noah lived by, while Jews should continue to follow the Mosaic Law.

Continuing his studies, Vendyl lectured for the Biblical Research Society from 1964 to 1967. He then established the Judaic-Christian Research Foundation, which later gave birth to the Institute of Judaic-Christian Research (IJCR), which has now become Vendyl Jones Research Institutes.

In 1964, the Journal of Near Eastern Studies reported the 1952 discovery of the Marble Tablets in Beirut, Lebanon. That same year the Copper Scroll was found in Cave #3 at Qumran, West Bank, which listed the hiding places of 64 sacred articles which included the Tabernacle and the Ark of the Covenant.

Move to Israel

In April 1967, Jones moved his family to Israel to continue his studies in the Department of Judaica at Hebrew University. Here, Jones became involved in the archaeological aspects of Israel. He aided the Israeli army during the Six-Day War. His assistance was in the role of being a spotter, since his color-blindness allowed him to spot camouflage. After the Six-Day War, he was on the Steckoll/Haas excavation team at Qumran, authorized by the Jordanian Department of Antiquities before the war. Shortly thereafter, Vendyl's excavations were continued under Israeli authority through the status quo Law.

In the years following, Jones continued to work in the Judean wilderness with his friend and mentor, the late Pessah Bar-Adon. Jones also worked at Tel Debir ( Kiryat HaSefer) with Professor Moshe Kohavi and Anson Rainey; the University of Tel Aviv and the Citadel of Herod the Great in Jerusalem with Professor Hillel Geva.

After 1972, Vendyl conducted eight excavations at Qumran, involving over 300 volunteers and funded by individual supporters of VJRI. There has been no support nor funding from the government, foundations, or grants. Jones's methods, claims and qualifications have been disputed by academics such as Joe Zias and Robert Elliot Friedman, and Jones has been denied digging permits by the Israeli authorities.

In 1988 an excavation team led by Jones found a small Herodian period jug in a cave near Qumran containing what was possibly balsamic oil, a type of oil which may have been used to anoint some Israelite kings. Jones stated that this was the original balm of Gilead. This was originally considered to be genuine and was publicised in the media.

In the 1992 excavation, the VJRI team announced the discovery of a hidden silo in the bedrock that contained a reddish snuff-looking material that appeared to be organic in nature. It was analyzed by Zohar Amar of Bar-Ilan University who noted that "According to Jones, the site where the red material was found corresponds exactly to the description of the ‘‘Cave of the Column” referred to in the Copper Scroll." Amar criticises Jones for being selective with his data, omitting material that challenges his claims. He concludes that the substance found by Jones "is a cleaning material known in the ancient Hebrew as "borit" nowiki/>lye.html"_;"title="lye.html"_;"title="nowiki/>lye">nowiki/>lye">lye.html"_;"title="nowiki/>lye">nowiki/>lyewhich_was_produced_in_this_region_by_the_inhabitants_of_Qumran_and_was_one_of_their_industries."

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