Deut 32:36–39: "Where are their gods?" and "I am He"

Uncertain Whether יָדִין (yadin, 32:36) means "vindicate" or "judge." The lean is "vindicate," because the parallel line says וְעַל־עֲבָדָיו יִתְנֶחָם (ve'al-'avadav yitnekham, "have compassion on His servants," BSB) when their strength is gone. The alternative is "judge," reading the verse as the start of the judgment on his adversaries in 32:37–43.

Says 32:37 asks אֵי אֱלֹהֵימוֹ צוּר חָסָיוּ בוֹ (e elohemo tsur khasayu vo, "Where are their gods, the rock in whom they took refuge?" literal).

Says 32:39 says אֲנִי אֲנִי הוּא וְאֵין אֱלֹהִים עִמָּדִי (ani ani hu ve'en elohim 'immadi, "I am He; there is no God besides Me," BSB), as 32:12 says the Lord alone led Israel.

Uncertain How 32:12 and 32:39 relate to the "gods" of 32:8 (if that reading is adopted), 32:17, 32:37, and 32:43. The team takes no lean.

Says 32:39 pairs אֲנִי אָמִית וַאֲחַיֶּה (ani amit va'akhayyeh, "I bring death and I give life," BSB) with מָחַצְתִּי וַאֲנִי אֶרְפָּא (makhatsti va'ani erpa', "I wound and I heal," BSB).

Uncertain Whether the line points to resurrection. The lean is that its plain sense is God's sovereign power over life and death and his restoring of his people, given the parallel "I wound and I heal" and the restoration in 32:36–43. The alternative, which later Jewish and Christian readers took up, is that it speaks of raising the dead; the wording allows this, since the same "I" who kills is then the one who makes alive (וַאֲחַיֶּה, Piel).