A good name is better than precious oil (Ecclesiastes 7:1).

This picture shows jugs, likely for exporting fine oil. These jugs are Cypro-Phoenician and date to the 11th–8th centuries BC. Solomon’s lifetime is within this range of time and he traded with Phoenicia, so Solomon may very well have seen jugs like these filled with precious oil. This photograph was taken at the Hecht Museum at the University of Haifa.

For the laughter of a fool is like the crackling of thorn bushes under a pot (Ecclesiastes 7:6)

Dry thorns burn quickly, crackling when set on fire but not constituting any substantial fuel. This American Colony photograph, which shows thorns being used as fuel for a cooking fire, was taken between 1900 and 1920. Generative AI was used to colorize this photo.

Because of this, no one can find out anything that will happen later on (Ecclesiastes 7:14).

From a very early period men have sought to know the future. One of the ancient forms of divination was extispicy, the inspection of the entrails of animals to discern omens of good or bad. The clay model of a liver shown here is inscribed with various omens that are connected to various lobes of the organ. This display was photographed at the Israel Museum.

There is one who is righteous who perishes in his righteousness (Ecclesiastes 7:15).

An example of a righteous man who died before his time is Jonathan, the son of Saul who befriended David. This painting by James Tissot portrays Saul throwing a javelin at Jonathan, who had spoken up on behalf of David (1 Sam 20:30-33). Although Jonathan was not killed in this event, he did die prematurely in battle against the Philistines on Mount Gilboa (1 Sam 31:2). This image of gouache on board painting is in the public domain, via The Jewish Museum.

And there is a wicked man who prolongs his life in his wickedness (Ecclesiastes 7:15).

An example of a wicked man who prolonged his life, albeit after the time of Solomon, is the Israelite king Jeroboam II (r. 793–753 BC). “In the fifteenth year of Amaziah son of Joash king of Judah, Jeroboam son of Jehoash king of Israel became king in Samaria, and he reigned forty-one years. He did evil in the eyes of the Lord and did not turn away from any of the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit” (2 Kgs 14:23, NIV). The seal impression shown here comes from a jasper seal (now lost) found at Megiddo. It bears the inscription “belonging to Shema, servant of Jeroboam.”