A good name, an excellent reputation before men and a high regard in the sight of God, is better than precious ointment, which was highly valued in the Orient for its refreshing odor; and the day of death than the day of one's birth, for at birth a person's fate is as yet unknown, while on the day of death life with all its vanities lies behind. To the believer particularly death means a deliverance from all evil, Philippians 1:23.
Related Commentaries of Ecclesiastes 7:1
Ecclesiastes 7:1
1 A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one's birth.