There are usually understood to be eight Beatitudes in the Sermon on the Mount, though some traditions count nine because “Blessed are those who are persecuted…” and the following verse can be split into two.

Quick Scoop: How Many Beatitudes Are There?

Most Christian scholars and teachers say there are eight Beatitudes in Matthew 5:3–12.

They are the famous “Blessed are…” sayings at the start of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. However, you’ll sometimes hear people say there are nine (or even “eight or nine”) because the word “Blessed” appears nine times, and some count verse 11 (“Blessed are you when people insult you…”) as a separate Beatitude from verse 10 about persecution.

A simple way to remember it:

  • Matthew: commonly taught as eight Beatitudes, with a debated “ninth” expansion about persecution.
  • Luke: a shorter set of four Beatitudes plus four matching “woes” in the Sermon on the Plain.

So if someone asks you, “how many Beatitudes are there?” the safest, most widely accepted answer is:

Eight Beatitudes in Matthew, usually counted as eight, though some traditions speak of nine.

Mini FAQ style breakdown

  • In Matthew 5:3–12: Common scholarly count = 8 distinct Beatitudes.
  • Why do some say 9? Because “Blessed” appears nine times; some split the persecution lines into two separate blessings.
  • In Luke 6:20–23: There are 4 Beatitudes, followed by 4 “woes” that mirror them.

HTML table (for your post formatting)

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<table>
  <thead>
    <tr>
      <th>Location</th>
      <th>Typical count</th>
      <th>Notes</th>
    </tr>
  </thead>
  <tbody>
    <tr>
      <td>Matthew 5:3–12</td>
      <td>8 Beatitudes</td>
      <td>Most scholars group the persecution sayings as one extended Beatitude, even though “Blessed” appears nine times. [web:1][web:3][web:5][web:7][web:9]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Luke 6:20–23</td>
      <td>4 Beatitudes</td>
      <td>Balanced by 4 “woes” that contrast the blessings. [web:5][web:7][web:9]</td>
    </tr>
  </tbody>
</table>

TL;DR: For your heading “how many beatitudes are there” you can confidently write: “Traditionally, Christians recognize eight Beatitudes in Matthew’s Gospel, though some count nine because of how the persecution sayings are divided.”

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.