Matthew 5:1 - Exposition

And seeing the multitudes ; i.e. those spoken of in Matthew 4:25 —the multitudes who were at that point of time following him. He went up . From the lower ground by the lake. Into a mountain ; Revised Version, into the mountain ( εἰς τὸ ὄρος ); i.e. not any special mountain, but "the mountain nearest the place spoken of—the mountain near by" (Thayer); in contrast to any lower place, whether that was itself fairly high ground (as probably Luke 9:28 ) or the shore of the lake. The actual spot here referred to may have been far from, or, and more probably ( Matthew 4:18 ), near to, the Lake of Gennesareth. It cannot now be identified. The traditional "Mount of Beatitudes" is Karn-Hattin , "a round, rocky hill", "a square-shaped hill with two tops", about five miles north-west of Tiberias. This tradition, dating only from the time of the Crusades, is accepted by Stanley, especially for the reasons that