Speak to the Israelites and say to them: I am the Lord your God. The self-identification of God as the Lord your God precedes every regulation in the Holiness Code. The regulations that follow are not arbitrary restrictions but expressions of the character of the God who has identified himself as Israel's God. The covenant relationship — I am the Lord your God — is the foundation of every ethical requirement that follows. The same formula that introduced the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:2) introduces the Holiness Code's application: the identity of God grounds the obligations of the covenant community.

COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS

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