The sages of Israel taught that God does not scatter wisdom like rain falling on barren ground. He gives wisdom only to those who already possess it — to those who have labored to cultivate understanding within themselves.
The Talmud in Berakhot (f. 57) records that King Solomon understood this principle better than anyone. When God appeared to Solomon in a dream at Gibeon and offered him anything he desired, Solomon did not ask for riches or long life. He asked for wisdom — and he asked for it precisely because he already had enough understanding to know that wisdom was the most valuable thing in existence.
The rabbis explained this with a parable. A king wished to reward his most faithful servant. He told the servant to ask for anything. The servant, who was already learned in the ways of the court, asked for the king's own seal ring — the symbol of authority and knowledge. The king was delighted, for only a wise man would have known to ask for such a thing. A fool would have asked for gold.
This teaching carried a warning as well. If a person neglected the Torah and let whatever small wisdom they possessed wither away, God would not replenish it. The vessel had to be kept open and ready. The Midrash on Exodus (Ki Tissa) adds that when Moses ascended Mount Sinai, he was already the humblest and most devoted of men — and so God filled him with a wisdom so vast that his face shone with light when he descended (Exodus 34:29).