וְשַׁבֵּ֧חַ אֲנִ֛י אֶת־הַמֵּתִ֖ים שֶׁכְּבָ֣ר מֵ֑תוּ מִן־הַ֣חַיִּ֔ים אֲשֶׁ֛ר הֵ֥מָּה חַיִּ֖ים עֲדֶֽנָה׃
Et j’estime plus heureux les morts, qui ont fini leur carrière, que les vivants qui ont prolongé leur existence jusqu’à présent;
Kli Yakar
And these are the names of the children of Israel. Rashi explains that this is to make known their preciousness as they are compared to stars, etc. Some say that just as a star, even though it is not visible during the day, nevertheless exists during the day, so too the righteous person in the World to Come, which is compared to day, has existence although they are not seen, and are only lost to their generation. And some say the opposite, that just as a star is only visible at night, so too the light of the righteous shines after their sun sets, as it is said: Before the sun darkens, etc. (Ecclesiastes 12:2).
And it appears to me that the main good name of a person is only recognized after their death, because during their lifetime it is not known whether they will remain in their righteousness, as it is written: And I praise the dead (Ecclesiastes 4:2), because during their lifetime there is no place to tell their praise, for who knows if they will remain in their righteousness. And this is what is meant by And Joseph was in Egypt — Rashi explains that this comes to make known his righteousness, that he remained righteous from beginning to end. For at the end of all matters, everything is heard, therefore his praise is told after he was placed in a coffin in Egypt.
And in this they are compared to stars which are visible after the setting of the sun; similarly, after a person’s sun sets, their righteousness is visible if it remained with them until their end. And this is what is written: And those who lead many to righteousness will shine like the stars forever and ever (Daniel 12:3). For one who leads many to righteousness will not come to sin, so that they should not be in Gehenna while their students are in the Garden of Eden (Yoma 87a). And for such a person, it is definite that their light will shine like the stars forever and ever, even after their death. But one who does not lead many to righteousness — it is not definite that they will remain in their righteousness forever.
And it appears to me that the main good name of a person is only recognized after their death, because during their lifetime it is not known whether they will remain in their righteousness, as it is written: And I praise the dead (Ecclesiastes 4:2), because during their lifetime there is no place to tell their praise, for who knows if they will remain in their righteousness. And this is what is meant by And Joseph was in Egypt — Rashi explains that this comes to make known his righteousness, that he remained righteous from beginning to end. For at the end of all matters, everything is heard, therefore his praise is told after he was placed in a coffin in Egypt.
And in this they are compared to stars which are visible after the setting of the sun; similarly, after a person’s sun sets, their righteousness is visible if it remained with them until their end. And this is what is written: And those who lead many to righteousness will shine like the stars forever and ever (Daniel 12:3). For one who leads many to righteousness will not come to sin, so that they should not be in Gehenna while their students are in the Garden of Eden (Yoma 87a). And for such a person, it is definite that their light will shine like the stars forever and ever, even after their death. But one who does not lead many to righteousness — it is not definite that they will remain in their righteousness forever.
Rabbeinu Bahya
You will note that whereas Elijah offered up numerous prayers at Mount Carmel, G’d did not respond to him until after he had mentioned the dead. When he pleaded ענני ה’ ענני, “answer me O Lord, answer me,” nothing happened until he added the words ה’ אלו-הי אברהם יצחק וישראל, “Lord G’d of Avraham, Yitzchak and Israel, today let it be known that there is a G’d in Israel.” As soon as he had concluded this particular prayer, fire fell from heaven and consumed the burnt-offering as well as the firewood and the stones. [I find this Midrash difficult as in the text you will note that Elijah mentioned the patriarchs before pleading ענני ה’ ענני. We may have to assume that the previous prayers are simply not recorded in the text (Compare Kings I 18,36)]
Moses, likewise, remained on Mount Sinai for forty days to ask G’d’s mercy for His people for the sin of the golden calf and he was not answered until he mentioned the dead by saying: “remember Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov.” As soon as he did that, the Torah writes וינחם ה’ על הרעה אשר דבר לעשות לעמו “The Lord reconsidered the evil He had said to do to His people.” The whole episode helps us understand what Solomon referred to in Kohelet 4,2 when he said: “I praise the dead who are dead already.” He meant that such dead are even more effective in death than live and righteous people are while still alive. This is what the sages meant when they said that the righteous dead are greater in death than while they were still alive” (Chulin 7).
Another approach to this verse in Kohelet: Solomon meant that the dead who were righteous during their lives long ago were greater in their lifetime than the righteous of the present generation in their lifetime (Shabbat 30,1). The proof is that the decrees handed down from the times of Moses are still being observed (though Moses has been dead a long time), whereas the decrees issued by kings nowadays, kings who are alive, are frequently not being observed. Moses himself had introduced numerous תקנות, ordinances, over and above the explicit laws spelled out in the Torah. To name but one: when the Torah writes in Leviticus 23,44 וידבר משה את מועדי ה’ אל בני ישראל, “Moses stated the laws about the festivals of G’d to the Children of Israel,” the Talmud Megillah 32 explains that Moses instituted the rule that the laws about keeping these festivals have to be expounded publicly on that day or earlier. We find that Ezra also added new such ordinances which are still being observed in our time (compare Baba Kama 82). All this is part of what Solomon had in mind when he praised the dead as being better off than the living as the ordinances of the living are often not accepted by their contemporaries.
Moses, likewise, remained on Mount Sinai for forty days to ask G’d’s mercy for His people for the sin of the golden calf and he was not answered until he mentioned the dead by saying: “remember Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov.” As soon as he did that, the Torah writes וינחם ה’ על הרעה אשר דבר לעשות לעמו “The Lord reconsidered the evil He had said to do to His people.” The whole episode helps us understand what Solomon referred to in Kohelet 4,2 when he said: “I praise the dead who are dead already.” He meant that such dead are even more effective in death than live and righteous people are while still alive. This is what the sages meant when they said that the righteous dead are greater in death than while they were still alive” (Chulin 7).
Another approach to this verse in Kohelet: Solomon meant that the dead who were righteous during their lives long ago were greater in their lifetime than the righteous of the present generation in their lifetime (Shabbat 30,1). The proof is that the decrees handed down from the times of Moses are still being observed (though Moses has been dead a long time), whereas the decrees issued by kings nowadays, kings who are alive, are frequently not being observed. Moses himself had introduced numerous תקנות, ordinances, over and above the explicit laws spelled out in the Torah. To name but one: when the Torah writes in Leviticus 23,44 וידבר משה את מועדי ה’ אל בני ישראל, “Moses stated the laws about the festivals of G’d to the Children of Israel,” the Talmud Megillah 32 explains that Moses instituted the rule that the laws about keeping these festivals have to be expounded publicly on that day or earlier. We find that Ezra also added new such ordinances which are still being observed in our time (compare Baba Kama 82). All this is part of what Solomon had in mind when he praised the dead as being better off than the living as the ordinances of the living are often not accepted by their contemporaries.
Ibn Ezra
הנני יִסַּד I will lay the foundation. יסד is an adjective,19יסד and שבח, according to I. E., may also be considered as participles of the Piël, the preformative מְ of the Piël and Pual being sometimes dropped. derived from a Piel like אִבַּד he hath destroyed (Lam. 2:9).20The Piël past has two forms, פִּעְל and פִּעַל; it is with the latter that יִסַּד is compared, and therefore אִבַּד is quoted. Comp. Zahoth, On the Piël. Comp. ושבח אני and I praise (Koh. 4:2); which is likewise transitive.