The appendices in 22:17-24:34 contain many repetitions of proverbs found in the larger collection. The prevalence of intemperance, the existence of a merchant class, and the allusions to exiled Jews (e.g., 24:11) point rather clearly to the dissolute Greek period as the age when these small collections were made. The word meaning "transcribe," that is found in the superscription to the second large collection (25-29), is peculiar to the late Hebrew, and implies that this superscription, like those of the Psalms, was added by a late Jewish scribe. The literary form of these proverbs is more complex than those of the other large collection. The kings are feared by their subjects, but figure now as oppressors rather than champions of the people. While this collection may contain a few proverbs coming from the period before the final destruction of Jerusalem, it is probable that, like the smaller appendices to the first large collection, they were not gathered until the early part of the Greek period. The long appendices in chapters 30-31 are clearly late. The note of doubt in the opening section of 30 is closely akin to that which recurs in the book of Ecclesiastes. It is also based on Isaiah 44:5 and 45:4. Aramaisms and the acrostic form in 31:10-31 imply that the background was the late Persian or early Greek period. The history of the book of Proverbs is therefore reasonably clear. Its original nucleus was probably a small group of popular proverbs that had been transmitted orally from the days before the final destruction of Jerusalem. These, together with proverbs which first became current during the Persian period, were collected some time in the days following the work of Nehemiah. To these was added in the Greek period the smaller appendices in 22:17-24:34. Possibly the same editor joined to them the large collection found in 25-29. He or some wise man in the Greek period prefixed the elaborate introduction in chapters 1-9. To the whole was added the appendices in chapters 30 and 31. It is probable that by the middle of the Greek period, or at least before 200 B.C., the book of Proverbs was complete in its present form. III. The Wise in Israel's Early History. Long before 2000 B.C. the scribes of ancient Egypt were busy collecting "the words of counsel of the men of olden time." Many of these ancient maxims still survive. The best-known is that which bears the title "The Wisdom of Ptah-hotep." The desire to preserve and transmit the results of practical experience is the common motive that underlies the work of the wise. It is that which inspires the teachers of all ages. The ancients were keenly alive to the importance of instruction and training. All that is significant in the civilizations of the past is, in a sense, the result of this teaching motif.