birkat-ha-minim aka "curse of the Christians"

I have searched in my Logos Library for birkat-ha-minim, the so-called "curse of the Christians". On wikipedia it said it was a prayer. What is its origin? Why is it not in the apocryphal texts? I cannot find anything of it other than it being referred to in J. Louis Martyn's History and Theology in the Fourth Gospel and in Craig Keener's Gospel of John commentary. Is this accessible in Logos? If so where do I buy it?

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Yasmin Stephen

Is this accessible in Logos? If so where do I buy it?

What is the "this" or the "it" you are referring to? If you want to know whether a book is available in Logos, you'll need to search the Logos store.

I had several hits in my library on "birkat-ha-minim"; I scanned some and a lot seem to be from footnotes or only mention the term in passing. I copied a couple of articles that seemed to elaborate a bit more:

[quote]“Shemoneh ‘Esreh”

The second and doubtless later division of the daily liturgy is the prayer consisting of eighteen benedictions, named the “Tefillah” κατ ἐξοχήν in the sources. This petition, which is still included in every Jewish prayer-book, is called SHEMONEH ‘ESREH (eighteen prayers) even in the earliest sources (Ber. vi. 3; Ta‘an. ii. 2). Rabbi Johanan (d. 279), the famous director of the school of Tiberias, who was distinguished also for his knowledge of the historical traditions, ascribes the introduction of these benedictions, the emphasizing of the sanctity of the Sabbath, the feast-days, and the benedictions at their close, to the Great Synagogue (Ber. 33a). Four kinds of liturgy, in the widest sense of the word, are here mentioned: “berakot,” “tefillot,” “ḥiddushot,” “habdalot.” In the benedictions are included, e.g., the sentences of thanksgiving recited after meals, which are probably very ancient (see Maimonides, “Yad,” Tefillah), and which are explained as Biblical, as well as all blessings spoken on partaking of fruit, executing commands, and the like. The beginnings of these prayers, perhaps, date back to the Persian period, their brevity and pure, simple Hebrew favoring this view. Their development, doubtless, was gradual and occupied several centuries. This may be assumed even in the case of the “Shemoneh ‘Esreh,” of which the first and last three benedictions constitute the foundation and hence are the oldest portion; and they are mentioned in the Mishnah with special names designating the several sentences (R. H. iv.; Tamid v. 1; R. H. 32a). “The ancient regulation which designates that portion for all the days of the year, while the other passages of the ‘Tefillah’ are excluded on the Sabbath and on festivals, is almost certainly a proof of greater age” (Zunz, “G. V.” 2d ed., p. 380). The intermediate twelve sentences are of later date, and Zunz ascribes them to various periods. Different versions of one and the same prayer were apparently differentiated and included as independent benedictions. These, however, never received a stereotyped form for general use, and each has its own history (Elbogen, in “Monatsschrift,” 1902). Even before the destruction of the Temple the twelfth benediction was added expressly against apostates and traitors (“birkat ha-minim”), and later was the cause of various changes in the “Shemoneh ‘Esreh” (Zunz, l.c. p. 382; Elbogen, l.c.). This prayer can not have been directed exclusively against Judæo-Christians, for at the time of its composition they can have been neither powerful nor antinomian in Palestine (see MINIM.)

Singer, I., ed. (1901–1906). In The Jewish Encyclopedia: A Descriptive Record of the History, Religion, Literature, and Customs of the Jewish People from the Earliest Times to the Present Day, 12 Volumes (Vol. 8, p. 133). Funk & Wagnalls.

(The BIRKAT HA-MINIM entry directed me to the “Shemoneh ‘Esreh”)

[quote]B. Prayers Other Scriptures, especially Psalms, may be read. Then the Eighteen Benedictions (Heb. šemônēh ʿeśrēh, TB Berakoth 28b) are recited (aloud, when a minyan is present) while the congregation stands, hence they are called the ʿamîḏâ. The Eighteen Benedictions, also known as the Tefillah (“prayer,” but in the Talmud, always the Eighteen Benedictions), are ascribed to the men of the Great Synagogue (TB Megillah 17b; TP Berakoth 4d). The order in which the Eighteen Benedictions are said was established by Rabban Gamaliel II (TB Megillah 17b; Berakoth 28b). A nineteenth, the birkat ha-minim (“blessing [ = cursing] of the apostates,” twelfth in the order designated in the Talmud), attributed to Samuel the Little, was added at the direction of Gamaliel, toward the close of the 1st cent. A.D. In its earliest form it may have read, “For apostates may there be no hope, and may the Nazarenes and the heretics suddenly perish” (Moore, I, 292 n 8). The wording of this “blessing” changed several times, and debate continues about its object. In a modern form it reads, “For slanderers, let there be no hope. May all wickedness quickly perish. May all your enemies be cut off. May you speedily uproot the arrogant kingdom, and break it, crush it, and humble it speedily in our days. Blessed are you, O Lord, who breaks the enemies and humbles the arrogant” (S. Sandmel, Judaism and Christian Beginnings [1978], p. 149). Only the first three and the last three of the benedictions are recited on sabbaths and festivals, and the intervening thirteen are replaced by a single prayer which relates to the day and its observance.

After the Shermoneh Esreh follows the Tahanun (“petition”), which varies in form and length according to the day of the week. It is omitted on certain days (cf. Birnbaum, Daily Prayer Book, p. 104). Josephus noted, “At the sacrifices [in the temple] prayers for the common welfare come first, after them those for ourselves individually” (CAp ii.23 [196]). This order is followed in the “Lord’s Prayer” (Mt. 6:10–13). Jewish prayers are almost always in the first person plural.
It is interesting that many of the prayers in the Prayer Book are in Aramaic, mixed with Hebrew. The rabbis believed that prayer should be in Hebrew. Thus Rab Judah: “Let a man never ask for what he needs in Aramaic,” and R. Johanan: “Whoever asks for what he needs in the Aramaic language, the ministering angels do not ally themselves with Him, for the ministering angels do not understand the Aramaic language” (TB Shabbath 12b, Sotah 33a). R. Eliezer repudiated all fixed forms of prayer (Mish Berakoth iv.4).

LaSor, W. S., & Eskenazi, T. C. (1979–1988). Synagogue. In G. W. Bromiley (Ed.), The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Revised (Vol. 4, p. 682). Wm. B. Eerdmans.

(This one is extracted from a longer section (Synagogue --> V. Worship Services --> B. Prayers))

There were hits from a couple of the Themelios journals that seemed promising but I won't copy them here. If you haven't done so yet, you can pick up the Themelios journals for free by using a coupon code (hint: think name of journal written in caps; we're not allowed to share coupon codes in the forums, so I cannot be more specific).

Doug Mangum (Lexham)

It is the twelfth benediction of the Shemoneh Esreh (the eighteen benedictions), a daily Jewish prayer mentioned in rabbinic literature (m. Berakhot 4:3; b. Berakhot 28b, 29a) and also called the Amidah. It's not a book or an apocryphal text. The original text of the twelfth benediction is unclear because it's not quoted in rabbinic literature, so the earliest texts come from much later. The insertion of the twelfth benediction is mentioned though (y. Berakhot 4:3). It is also not clear that Christians were the original objects of the curse as the rabbis had other Jewish theological opponents.

“In summary then, it is reasonable to conclude in answer to our two opening questions regarding the Birkat ha-Minim that: (1) It was directed against all Jews who after 70 were not in the Pharisaic/rabbinic camp, not only against Jewish Christians. (2) Its original form cannot be precisely recovered on the basis of the available evidence, but what can be said with some certainty is that the Yavnean malediction did not include explicit references to Notzrim [i.e., Christians].” (Steven T. Katz, “Issues in the Separation of Judaism and Christianity after 70 C.E.: A Reconsideration,” Journal of Biblical Literature 103 (1984): 74).

If you have The New Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible, it has a brief article about it: Pieter W. Van der Horst, “Twelfth Benediction,” New Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible, edited by Katharine Doob Sakenfeld, 5 vols. (Nashville: Abingdon, 2006–2009), 5:689.

There is a lengthy discussion of it in David Flusser's book—“The Various Versions of the Birkat Ha-Minim,” in Judaism of the Second Temple Period, translated by Azzan Yadin (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2007), 84–94. Flusser says, “Birkat ha-Minim predates the emergence of Christianity, and its original form could not have referred to Christians.” (88).

So there are places to learn about it in Logos resources, but they seem to be fairly technical, academic works, aside from the brief discussion in NIDB. Flusser seems to have the most detailed discussion out of what comes up in my Logos library on the subject.