Concise Bible Dictionary:
The name commonly given to the nine statements of blessing in the Sermon on the Mount, showing the character and the portion of those who enter into the kingdom (Matt. 5:1-11). This stands in remarkable contrast to the economy of the law, in which there is a list of curses as well as of blessings. When Israel entered the land the blessings, but also the curses, were duly read to the people (Josh. 8:33-35).
Several of the Psalms contain beatitudes, and such are called Asherite Psalms, from the Hebrew word ashrey, “happiness, blessing.”