In Deuteronomy 32:39 God proclaims, “I, I am He.” Why is the “I” repeated? Who is the intended recipient of this message?
In a hand written Torah scroll this verse is broken into 5 phrases:
See now that I, I am He,
and no god is with Me;
I will kill, and I will make alive;
I wounded, and I will heal;
and there is no rescuer from my hand.
The phrasing “I, I am He” is clearly putting an emphasis on the “I.” What is the purpose of this repetition?
Deuteronomy 32:39 – Context
Let’s start by looking at the context of Deuteronomy 32.
Rav Saadia Gaon writes (page 267 of The Book of Beliefs and Opinions, the translation of HaEmunot and HaDayot) that Deuteronomy 32:1-43 is a chronological review of the fortunes of the Jewish people.
The last section, verses 33-43, is about the consolation of the Jewish people. In particular, Deuteronomy 32:39 refers to the time of redemption.
It turns out, to understand Deuteronomy 32:39, we must first look at verses 37 and 38.
37. And he shall say, Where are their gods, their rock in whom they trusted,
38. Those who ate the fat of their sacrifices, and drank the wine of their drink offerings? Let them rise up and help you, and be your protection.
Who is speaking in these two verses? Who is being addressed?
Daat Mikra finds 3 opinions expressed by the commentators. The speaker “he” is:
- God – rebuking the Jewish people for practicing idol worship.
- The non-Jews – claiming that God has abandoned His people.
- The Jewish people after they are redeemed – asking about the nations of the world.
Deuteronomy 32:39 is God’s response to these two verses.
Approach #1 – God Rebukes the Jews
If Deuteronomy 32:37-38 is God rebuking the Jewish people for idol worship, then what is He telling them in verse 39?
Let’s look at how Rashi explains the repetition of “I” to answer that question.
Rashi
See now that I, I am He – Rashi writes that God tells the Jews to learn lessons from the troubles that He brought on them and for which they had no savior.
In the past they relied on the false gods of the non-Jews.
It is God Who will save them and there is none that can stop Him.
The repetition “I, I am He” means God is saying He brings down and He raises up. Whether something is bad (brought down) or good (raised up), God is the One who did it.
and no god is with Me – Rashi explains this means there is none like God. There is none that opposes Him or can protest His actions.
and there is no rescuer from My hand – for those who sinned against God.
Sforno
Sforno disagrees with Rashi’s explanation of “and no god is with Me.” He writes it means the salvation of the Jewish people is not coming from other princes or heavenly armies. He understands the phrase to mean that God has no assistant.
Hirsch
Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch explains “I will kill, and I will make alive” is God’s proclamation that He is the eternal source of existence and life.
Similarly, “I wounded, and I will heal” means God is the One who struck the Jewish people and He alone will heal them.
Approach #2 – The Nations Blaspheme
According to this approach, Deuteronomy 32:37-38 was said by the enemies of the Jewish people. They claim that God abandoned His people.
In verse 39 God responds to their blasphemy. A fundamental part of God’s message to the nations is that He never abandoned His people.
Abarbanel
Abarbanel points out in verse 32:38 the non-Jews speak about the “gods” protecting the Jewish people. They did not realize the true nature of God.
As Abarbanel explains, “I, I am He, and no god is with Me” means that God is one and not plural.
Abarbanel writes that God says He is the one who has permitted the non-Jews at times to kill. At the time of the redemption, He will give life to those who were killed.
The non-Jews thought that they had the power to conquer the Jewish people. Any such power they seemed to have only came from God.
Daat Mikra
God answers in 32:39 that He is God, there is no other.
Daat Mikra writes the doubling of “I” is expanded upon by the later phrases.
The first “I” is explained by “I will kill, and I will make alive.”
The second “I” is explained by “I wounded, and I will heal.”
God is telling the world, no matter what happened to the Jewish people, it was only God Who did it. The nations had no power of their own. They only were able to to do what God permitted them to do.
Malbim
Malbim understands the repetition of “I” teaches about God acting in history in the past and in the future.
I – I brought Israel out of Egypt.
I am He – Who will bring them out this exile.
Netziv – HaEmek Davar
Netziv makes a similar point to the Malbim. He quotes the Gemara that applies Deuteronomy 32:37 to the destruction of the Second Temple.
Vespasian sent Titus. “And he will say, Where is their God, the rock in whom they trusted?” (Deuteronomy 32:37) This is the wicked Titus who blasphemed and insulted Heaven.
God, as it were, responds to Titus:
I – from the beginning I was the God of Israel.
I am He – forever.
and no god is with Me – I never outsourced my oversight of the Jewish people to another being.
Approach #3 – The Jewish People Mock
The commentator Chizkuni is the only one I came across who follows this approach. Here’s how he explains the verses.
The Jewish people say verses 32:37-38. This happens after the final redemption when the Jewish people are ascendant over the other nations. They ask about the nations: Where are their gods who did not have the power to save them?
God responds in Deuteronomy 32:39 and explains to the non-Jews that their gods never had any independent power.
See now that I, I am He – God says this to the nations who subjugated Israel.
I, I am He – who does not change.
I will kill, and I will make alive – “I will kill” in the past and now “I will make alive.”
This idea is echoed by the prophet:
8. He will destroy death for ever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces…
I wounded, and I will heal – in the past “I wounded,” and “I will heal” them from now and onward.
The Four Errors
Rav Saadia Gaon (The Book of Beliefs and Opinions page 427) writes that Deuteronomy 32:39 is a refutation of 4 types of errors. Here is each error followed by the phrase that refutes it.
- There is no Creator – I, I am He.
- There is a Creator but He had a partner – and no god is with Me.
- There is no resurrection – I will kill, and I will make alive.
- There is no judgment – and there is no rescuer from my hand.
He expands on the concept of resurrection by quoting a Gemara:
Our Rabbis taught: “I will kill, and I will make alive”: You might say, I kill one person and give life to another, as the world goes on.
Therefore it is stated, “I wounded, and I will heal”: just as the wounding and the healing [obviously] refer to the same person, so death and life refer to the same person.
This refutes those who maintain that resurrection is not intimated in the Torah.