Politically, the Psalms of Solomon are anti-Hasmonean, and some psalms in the collection show a clear awareness of the Roman conquest of Jerusalem under Pompey in 63 BC, metaphorically treating him as a dragon who had been sent by God to punish the Hasmoneans. Some of the psalms are messianic, in the Jewish sense (clearly referring to a mortal that happens to be divinely assisted, much like Moses), but the majority are concerned less with the world at large, and more with individual behavior, expressing a belief that repentance for unintended sins will return them to God's favor.