“A good name is better than fine perfume”
A good name is better than fine perfume, and one's day of death is better than his day of birth. (Ecclesiastes 7:1 BSB)
What it sounds like today
A pleasant but ordinary saying about reputation versus perfume.
The cultural key
The proverb is built on a pun that disappears in English. 'Name' in Hebrew is shem and 'perfume' or fragrant oil is shemen, almost the same word, so the line rings like 'a good shem beats good shemen.' The comparison is pointed: costly perfumed oil was a mark of luxury and status, but it is literally volatile, it evaporates and fades, whereas a good name, a reputation for integrity, endures and even grows after death. That is also why the second half can claim the day of death is better than the day of birth: at birth your name is still unwritten, but at a good death it is complete and secure. Hearing only 'name' and 'perfume,' the English reader misses that the two key words are near-twins, and that the wit and the point ride on their likeness.
Recovered meaning
The saying puns on shem ('name') and shemen ('perfume'): a good name outlasts fine oil, which quickly evaporates. Reputation, unlike luxury, endures and is only completed at a good death.