The Sword of the Messiah 39 nations like Assyria and Babylon (13). Those who had remained righteous (probably including the author and his circle) had to flee (17,16-18), but their hope is in the messiah, the legitimate Davidic king whom God will raise up to liberate “Israel” and to bring justice and “peace” (17,21– 18,12) (14). An important observation is that Psalms of Solomon does not depict a conflict between the Jews and the Romans, but between the righteous and the wicked. In Psalm 1, the author speaks as Jerusalem personified and it is evident that not all Israelites had been righteous and faithful (cf. 2,3) (15). The author is clear that, based on God’s judgment, a sifting will take place between the righteous and the sinner (2,33-35; cf. Pss 3–4; 13–15), between “the house of the righteous/Israel” (3,6-8; 7,10; 9,11; 10,8; 17,42) and “the house of the sinner” (12,3; 15,11). The righteous will be disciplined, purified and “saved” but the sinner will be destroyed and go to Sheol (12,6; 13,7; Pss 13–15). The a[rconte" represent the Jewish rulers who are evaluated negatively (5,11; 8,16.20; 17,12.20.22.36) and hence are put on the side of the sinner. Moreover, the people that are depicted negatively in 1,8; 2,3; 4,1.8; 8,11-12; 17,6 probably refer to priests, teachers of the law, rulers, etc. Thus, the righteous or “Israel” includes the author and his community, and the sinner refers not only to the Romans but also to the Hasmoneans and their supporters, i.e., the Jewish ruling class. Let us now return to Psalms 17–18 and examine the specific activities of the messiah by which he will liberate “Israel”. These two Psalms envisage a Davidic messiah who is endowed with the Spirit, wisdom, understanding and might (17,21.37; 18,7), which echoes Isa 11,2. This messiah will destroy the wicked, judge the nations, liberate “Israel” and rule over her as God’s appointed king (17,21-46; cf. Isa 11,4-9). That the psalmist does not have the entire restoration of Israel in mind may be clear from the references to the judgment of the arcwn who represents the Jewish ruling class (17,20.22.36), and of the [ (13) In fact, Pompey was first welcomed by the Jewish rulers as the bringer of “peace” (8,16-18), but this pax Romana is the ironical counterpart of the lasting “peace” that the messiah will establish (17,26-32). Pompey’s assassination was also considered as a judicial act of God (2,25-29). Atkinson, however, interprets the “man foreign to our race” (17,7) as referring to Herod the Great (“Use”, 109). (14) Hence, the psalmist and his group are quietists (cf. 12,5); they verbally attack their enemies but have no realistic means to secure political control (WRIGHT, “Psalms”, II, 642-643). (15) Cf. DE JONGE, “Psalms”, 163; WRIGHT, “Psalms”, II, 651.