In the Old Testament there are references to the Beatitudes, in the Book of Psalms, the Psalm I is the psalm of the two ways, this poem is dedicated to the bliss of the man who takes pleasure in the Law of the Lord. Jesus retakes in an original way the teachings of the old testament and presents the blessed life in 8 sentences, in the Sermon of the Mount.
The beatitudes respond to the gifts according to Thomas Aquinas, "the beatitude is a perfection" expressed in Q 26 A 4, then says: "the only blessedness of the blessed is God" Q 26 A3 (Sum of Theology) and concludes: "the end may be that and for which, this is the object in itself and its use. Example: for the miser the end is money and to acquire money. So the ultimate goal of man is God as an object, and the created beatitude as enjoy of the object "Q 26 A 3.
One of the most important beatitudes express:
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Matthew 5:4
In antiquity there were two lifestyles: the seated life and the nomad life. Inherit the earth means seated life. Nomade life is a risky life as opposed to seated life, the life in the city that is a safer life. Inherit the earth ultimately means "security."
The patience respondes to the gift of Fear of the Lord, this gift is define as constancy, firmness, devotion, equanimity, stability. The constant, the devote people receive the blessing of the safe, secure life. Thence the importance of this spiritual gift in the Old Testament.
The inconstant people, on the other hand, are people who do not have a life project, who depend fundamentally on what provides them the luck. Not depend on the luck, but on the blessings that God gives us, that is the idea associated with this bless, through the gift of Fear of the Lord known as firmness, constancy, devotion, equanimity, stability.