Abstract:
In this paper, Psalms 9 and 10 are read together from a literary, post-exilic perspective, arguing
that the construct of the ‘enemy’ in this composition primarily serves to strengthen the position
of the righteous. It seems that a variety of strategies are employed in this composition to
establish dichotomic-ideological categories. This results in the formation of a polarity between
YHWH and the enemy on the one hand and the righteous and the enemy on the other. This
seems to have been a technique through which the author or authors of this composition
sought to break free from their current social experience in order to create a new, just and fair
reality for the righteous.
