The Mekhilta DeRabbi Yishmael offers multiple interpretations of the Hebrew phrase "elohim acherim," commonly translated as "other gods." The rabbis noticed that the word "acherim" (others) is an unusual way to describe rival deities, and they mined its linguistic possibilities for deeper meaning.
The first interpretation plays on the root of "acherim," connecting it to "me'achorim," meaning "to delay" or "push back." These so-called gods delay good from entering the world. They are not merely false. They are actively obstructive. Wherever people worship them, blessing is held back and goodness cannot arrive.
The second interpretation takes "acherim" at face value: "others" in the sense of "strangers" or "indifferent ones." These gods are "other" to those who serve them. They are utterly indifferent to their worshippers. A person cries out to an idol, pours out devotion, makes sacrifices, and the idol does nothing in return. As the prophet declared in (Isaiah 46:7): "He cries out to it, but it does not answer; it does not save him from his affliction."
Both readings share a common thread: idols are defined by what they fail to do. They do not help. They do not respond. They do not bring good into the world. The Torah's term "other gods" is not a concession that these objects have any divine power. It is a description of their fundamental otherness, their alienness to the very concept of care. They are called "gods" only because their worshippers treat them as such, never because they function as such.