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Matthew 7:11Sermon on the Mount
If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!
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Interpretation

Jesus teaches a good gifts that is embodied in relationships and commitments. Matthew 7:11: trace "how" and "give". Let good gifts through how disagreements are handled—teach the body new reflexes.

Context

The setting is Matthew—gospel narrative, naming good gifts. Placed in ch. 7, the nearby lines set its tone. The nearby sentences supply the texture.

Authorship & Historical Background

Early attribution points to the apostle Matthew (ex‑tax collector) for Matthew. Academic consensus for Matthew tends toward: Anonymous in early witnesses; later ascribed to Matthew; engages Mark alongside a sayings tradition.. Date: AD 80–90. Matthew seems aimed at Jewish‑Christian community.. It sits within the Sermon on the Mount (gospel narrative). Readers often compare Matthew’s arrangement and sources with Mark and Q.

More details
Traditional:Matthew the tax collector
Modern scholarship:Anonymous; attributed to Matthew; uses Mark + Q source.
Date:AD 80–90
Audience:Jewish‑Christian community.
Manuscripts & Textual Witnesses
The Greek text is preserved in over 5,800 manuscripts, more than any other surviving ancient work. Early papyri from the 2nd-3rd centuries like P46, P66, P75 provide text. Major uncial codices (Sinaiticus, Vaticanus, 4th century) contain complete or near-complete texts. The Byzantine text family represents the majority of later manuscripts. Textual variants exist but are mostly minor: word order, articles, spelling. No central Christian doctrine depends on any disputed text. Modern critical editions compare all manuscript families to determine the most probable original wording reading.
Sources & witness notes
SinaiticusVaticanusP46