Solomon was gifted by God with unique wisdom and insight. He spent a lifetime trying to discover the meaning of life, investigating every avenue he could. For the most part, however, he came up empty. He simply could not figure it out. But though he could not (at least until the very end) come up with a solid answer to the meaning of life, he had many thoughts that he offered along the way about life “under the sun.” In 8:16–9:6, he reflects on some certainties that he had learned about life and death.