98 siGuRD GRinDheim the messiah as the object of people’s trust. Second Baruch appears to introduce a novel idea (perhaps as a result of christian influence) when it refers to the resurrection of “all who sleep in hope of [the messiah]” (30,1). another anomaly is found in the enochic literature, in which the heavenly son of man is the object of hope. With an allusion to the servant songs of isaiah (42,6; 49,6), the son of man is described as “a staff for the righteous ones in order that they may lean on him and not fall. he is the light of the gentiles and he will become the hope of those who are sick in their hearts” (1 En. 48,4). in the last judgment, not only the righteous but also the rulers of the world will place their hope in him: “all the kings, the governors, the high officials, and those who rule the earth shall fall down before him on their faces, and worship and raise their hopes in that son of man; they shall beg and plead for mercy at his feet” (62,9). in 2 Enoch, enoch also places his hope in the angels that guided him on his journey to the heavenly throne (2 En. 21,4). as far as earthly characters go, i have only found two examples where someone other than God is encroaching upon his role as the object of trust. Both of them are in the septuagint translation of isaiah. the mt of isa 28,16 may be translated: “therefore thus says the lord God, see, i am laying in Zion a foundation stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, a sure foundation: ‘one who trusts will not panic’” (nRsV). “one who trusts” (!ymamh) is here used without an object; the presumed object is God. in the septuagint, there is an im- portant change. the translation reads: “therefore thus says the lord, see, i will lay for the foundations of sion a precious, choice stone, a highly valued cornerstone for its foundations, and the one who believes in him (o` pisteu,wn evpV auvtw/|) will not be put to shame” (nets). the stone is now the object of faith. the connection between God and the stone is close, as God is the one laying the stone in place. nevertheless, the septuagint represents a new development in that something other than God is now the object of faith in the absolute sense. the septuagint translation of isaiah’s first servant song goes even further. the mt describes the servant as follows: “[h]e will not grow faint or be crushed until he has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands wait for his teaching (wlyxyy ~yya wtrwtlw)” (isa 42,4 nRsV). as i have already mentioned, this teaching must be the word of God. in the septuagint, however, there is once again an important difference: “[h]e will blaze up and not be overwhelmed until he has established judgment on the earth, and nations will hope in his name