_I came forth from the mouth of the Most High, And like a cloud I covered the earth; I had my dwelling in the high places, And my throne was in the pillar of cloud; I alone compassed the circuit of heaven And walked in the depth of the abysses, In the waves of the sea and through all the earth; And in every people I got me a possession. With all these I sought for a resting-place-- “In whose lot shall I find a lodging?” Then the Creator of all commanded me, Even he that formed me, pitched my tent And said, “In Jacob be thy dwelling, And in Israel thine inheritance.” In the beginning, before the world, He fashioned me, And to all eternity shall I fail not. In the holy tabernacle I ministered before Him, And thus was I established in Zion; Yea, in the beloved city He gave me resting-place, And in Jerusalem was my dominion_ (E. 24^{3-11})[77]. Such words would have set the Greeks, as they set us, asking questions: “Is it implied that Wisdom is an entity distinct from God?”; “How far is it fair to see Greek influence in this apparent ascription of personality to Wisdom?” Both questions may be considered together. Too much stress cannot be laid on the firm hold which Monotheism had obtained in post-exilic Judaism; to the Jews of the Hellenic age the unity of God was a fundamental tenet. But the Jewish mind was as yet unphilosophical, not from lack of intelligence but from lack of inclination or initial suggestion. Hebrew thought started from the existence of God as an axiom, and was content to use the fact of conscience as the key to the interpretation of life, whereas Greek thought had naturally inclined towards making intellectual speculation the basis of its endeavour to attain through truth, morality, and beauty to the secret of life and the knowledge of God. Consequently many utterances that inevitably raise metaphysical questions in our minds, and would have philosophical meaning if spoken by a Greek, were put forward by the Jews most simply, without consideration of inherent intellectual problems. Of this character are the praises of Wisdom: although language is used that would fittingly be applied to a personal being, there was no intention to personify Wisdom as some kind of sub-divine Being other than God. The Wise intended only to declare their fervent belief that the Wisdom they studied, loved, and trusted, was transcendently great, was _God’s_ Wisdom, was “from above.” Wisdom in these proverbs was not consciously deemed to be more than an attribute of God, and phrases that seem to us to overstep the bounds and confer personality are to be regarded as an enthusiasm of the heart not implying metaphysical conclusions as to the ultimate nature of Deity.[1a] This is the language not of philosophy but of affection and reverent esteem. From an early age there was a strong tendency in Hebrew thought