Birkat Ha-MinimRevisited

Abstract

J. Louis Martyn and others have argued that a decision by late first-century rabbis to introduce a liturgical curse against heretics (Birkat Ha-Minim) provides the background for early Christian passages about Christians being excluded from and cursed in synagogues. More recent scholars, however, have challenged the assumption that the earliest form ofBirkat Ha-Minimreferred to Christians and that the rabbis controlled the synagogues. The present article defends the basics of Martyn's reconstruction while nuancing the extent of rabbinic control in the early Christian centuries. It also suggests, however, that the original ofBirkat Ha-Minimmay have been a Qumranian curse on the Romans.

Negotiating Complexity within the Dialectical and Cosmopolitan Johannine Situation

“…21 Numerous references to house-churches are made by Acts and Paul, and it is likely that these gatherings were in play in post 70 CE Asia Minor, when the Johannine entourage relocated in the region (Acts 2:46; 12:12; 16:40; Rom 16:5; 1 Cor 16:19; Col 4:15; Philem 1:2; 2 John 1:2; see also Filson 1939;Petersen 1969;Banks 2020). 22 While some scholars have rightly questioned the extent to which the Birkat ha-Minim reflected widespread expulsions of Jesusadherents from Diaspora synagogues (Katz 1984;Kimelman 1981), others argue correctly the likelihood of real-life tensions between Jesus-adherents (especially from Gentile and Hellenic backgrounds) and leaders of synagogue communities (Marcus 2009;de Boer 2009de Boer , 2020. 23 Thus, note the incarnational and antidocetic thrust of John's presentation of a human Jesus who suffered and died (Meye Thompson 1988;Schnelle 1992).…”

To Be ‘An Out-of-the-Synagoguer’

“…4. Marcus (2009) defends the link to the Birkat HaMinim and adds evidence for a curse on the Romans at Qumran. Heemstra (2010) links the Birkat HaMinim to the reform of the fiscus judaicus in the reign of Nerva.…”

“…Martyn (1968: 19) states: 'We are not dealing with an ad hoc move on the part of the authorities who happen at the moment to be questioning the beggar and his parents. ' Marcus (2009: 551) refers to 'places in which the rabbis were able to establish substantial control over the synagogue and Jewish religious life in general'. In Acts (9.1-2; 22.19; 26.11) Paul seems to be acting in a semi-official capacity.…”