Each of you must respect your mother and father, and you must observe my Sabbaths. I am the Lord your God. The opening ethical commands pair parental respect and Sabbath observance — the two commands from the Decalogue that address human relationships (parent-child) and the covenant calendar (Sabbath). The reversal of the Decalogue's order (mother before father) is notable. Parental respect and Sabbath observance together create the first pair of the Holiness Code's integrated ethical framework: relationships within the family and the covenant community's temporal rhythm are both grounded in I am the Lord your God.

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