is an English translation problem. However the two messages are different in many ways. Matthew may have described a mountain setting to parallel the giving of the Law on Mt. Sinai. “He sat down” This was a rabbinical idiom for an official teaching session, as was “He opened His mouth” (v. 2). These phrases, as well as the standardized close at 7:28, “When Jesus had closed this address,” imply that this is presented by Matthew as one sermon. This is the first and longest of five sermons by Jesus