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Matthew 5:8Sermon on the Mount
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
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Interpretation

Jesus teaches a pure in heart that is embodied in family life. Matthew 5:8: trace "blessed" and "pure". Align pure in heart through how disagreements are handled—let wisdom become a road.

Context

Matthew speaks here as gospel narrative writing, naming pure in heart. Placed in ch. 5, 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. A common scholarly view of Matthew: Anonymous in early witnesses; later ascribed to Matthew; engages Mark alongside a sayings tradition.. Scholars commonly date Matthew AD 80–90. Matthew seems aimed at Jewish‑Christian community.. Genre and setting: gospel narrative, in the Sermon on the Mount. 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 5,800+ manuscripts, surpassing other ancient works in manuscript count. Early papyri from the 2nd-3rd centuries like P46, P66, P75 provide text within about 100-150 years of its writing. 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