And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying: Speak unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, and say unto them: Ye shall be holy; for I the LORD your God am holy. Ye shall fear every man his mother, and his father, and ye shall keep My sabbaths: I am the LORD your God. Turn ye not unto the idols, nor make to yourselves molten gods: I am the LORD your God. And when ye offer a sacrifice of peace-offerings unto the LORD, ye shall offer it that ye may be accepted. … And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt not wholly reap the corner of thy field, neither shalt thou gather the gleaning of thy harvest. And thou shalt not glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather the fallen fruit of thy vineyard; thou shalt leave them for the poor and for the stranger: I am the LORD your God. Ye shall not steal; neither shall ye deal falsely, nor lie one to another. And ye shall not swear by My name falsely, so that thou profane the name of thy God: I am the LORD. Thou shalt not oppress thy neighbour, nor rob him; the wages of a hired servant shall not abide with thee all night until the morning. Thou shalt not curse the deaf, nor put a stumbling-block before the blind, but thou shalt fear thy God: I am the LORD. Ye shall do no unrighteousness in judgment; thou shalt not respect the person of the poor, nor favour the person of the mighty; but in righteousness shalt thou judge thy neighbour. Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people; neither shalt thou stand idly by the blood of thy neighbour: I am the LORD. Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thy heart; thou shalt surely rebuke thy neighbour, and not bear sin because of him. Thou shalt not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD. (Leviticus 19:1–18, selected passages)

וַיְדַבֵּר ה' אֶל מֹשֶׁה לֵּאמֹר, דַּבֵּר אֶל כׇּל עֲדַת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְאָמַרְתָּ אֲלֵהֶם:
קְדֹשִׁים תִּהְיוּ - כִּי קָדוֹשׁ אֲנִי ה' אֱלֹהֵיכֶם.
אִישׁ אִמּוֹ וְאָבִיו תִּירָאוּ וְאֶת שַׁבְּתֹתַי תִּשְׁמֹרוּ - אֲנִי ה' אֱלֹהֵיכֶם.
אַל תִּפְנוּ אֶל הָאֱלִילִם וֵאלֹהֵי מַסֵּכָה לֹא תַעֲשׂוּ לָכֶם - אֲנִי ה' אֱלֹהֵיכֶם.
וְכִי תִזְבְּחוּ זֶבַח שְׁלָמִים לַה' לִרְצֹנְכֶם תִּזְבָּחֻהוּ …
וּבְקֻצְרְכֶם אֶת קְצִיר אַרְצְכֶם, לֹא תְכַלֶּה פְּאַת שָׂדְךָ לִקְצֹר, וְלֶקֶט קְצִירְךָ לֹא תְלַקֵּט. וְכַרְמְךָ לֹא תְעוֹלֵל, וּפֶרֶט כַּרְמְךָ לֹא תְלַקֵּט, לֶעָנִי וְלַגֵּר תַּעֲזֹב אֹתָם - אֲנִי ה' אֱלֹהֵיכֶם.
לֹא תִּגְנֹבוּ, וְלֹא תְכַחֲשׁוּ, וְלֹא תְשַׁקְּרוּ אִישׁ בַּעֲמִיתוֹ. וְלֹא תִשָּׁבְעוּ בִשְׁמִי לַשָּׁקֶר, וְחִלַּלְתָּ אֶת שֵׁם אֱלֹהֶיךָ - אֲנִי ה'.
לֹא תַעֲשֹׁק אֶת רֵעֲךָ, וְלֹא תִגְזֹל. לֹא תָלִין פְּעֻלַּת שָׂכִיר אִתְּךָ עַד בֹּקֶר. לֹא תְקַלֵּל חֵרֵשׁ, וְלִפְנֵי עִוֵּר לֹא תִתֵּן מִכְשֹׁל, וְיָרֵאתָ מֵּאֱלֹהֶיךָ - אֲנִי ה'.
לֹא תַעֲשׂוּ עָוֶל בַּמִּשְׁפָּט, לֹא תִשָּׂא פְנֵי דָל, וְלֹא תֶהְדַּר פְּנֵי גָדוֹל - בְּצֶדֶק תִּשְׁפֹּט עֲמִיתֶךָ. לֹא תֵלֵךְ רָכִיל בְּעַמֶּיךָ, לֹא תַעֲמֹד עַל דַּם רֵעֶךָ - אֲנִי ה'.
לֹא תִשְׂנָא אֶת אָחִיךָ בִּלְבָבֶךָ. הוֹכֵחַ תּוֹכִיחַ אֶת עֲמִיתֶךָ וְלֹא תִשָּׂא עָלָיו חֵטְא. לֹא תִקֹּם וְלֹא תִטֹּר אֶת בְּנֵי עַמֶּךָ. וְאָהַבְתָּ לְרֵעֲךָ כָּמוֹךָ -  אֲנִי ה'.  (ויקרא י"ט א-יח)

In Plato’s Euthyphro, Socrates asks:

Is piety loved by the gods because it is pious, or is it pious because it is loved by the gods? (Plato, Euthyphro, fourth century BCE)

האם אהובה היא החסידות (על האלים) - מפני שחסידות היא, או מפני שהיא אהובה (על האלים) - על כן היא חסידות? (אֶוּתִיפְרוֹן, אפלטון, המאה ה־4 לפנה״ס).

In modern terms, does God desire moral behavior because it is moral, or is it desirable because God commands it?

Leviticus 19 may seem to decide for the second alternative: moral behavior is part of the divine command to be holy. Ritual and moral commandments intermingle, with both types concluding “I am the LORD,” culminating in:

but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the LORD. (Leviticus 19:18)

וְאָהַבְתָּ לְרֵעֲךָ כָּמוֹךָ - אֲנִי ה'. (ויקרא י"ט, יח)

In Abraham’s dispute with the LORD over Sodom, by contrast, God must meet moral demands rather than originating them. Understanding that He intends to harm Sodom despite its righteous inhabitants, Abraham begins with a lengthy, absolute rejection of such an act’s legitimacy:

That be far from Thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked, that so the righteous should be as the wicked; that be far from Thee; shall not the judge of all the earth do justly?’ (Genesis 18:25)

חָלִלָה לְּךָ מֵעֲשֹׂת כַּדָּבָר הַזֶּה – לְהָמִית צַדִּיק עִם רָשָׁע, וְהָיָה כַצַּדִּיק כָּרָשָׁע. חָלִלָה לָּךְ, הֲשֹׁפֵט כָּל הָאָרֶץ לֹא יַעֲשֶׂה מִשְׁפָּט?! (בראשית י"ח, כה)

Perhaps a synthesis appears in another Genesis dialogue, between the LORD and Abimelech after he innocently takes Abraham’s wife Sarah (Genesis 20).

The LORD first appears in a night dream, announcing Abimelech’s impending death for taking a married woman. Abimelech opens with an accusation against God rather than merely defending himself. As at Sodom, God appears obligated by morality rather than determining it, corresponding to Euthyphro’s first alternative:

Lord, wilt Thou slay even a righteous nation? (Genesis 20:4)

אֲדֹנָי, הֲגוֹי גַּם צַדִּיק תַּהֲרֹג?! (בראשית כ', ד).

Later Abraham explains why he concealed Sarah’s marriage:

Because I thought: Surely the fear of God is not in this place; and they will slay me for my wife’s sake. (Genesis 20:11)

כִּי אָמַרְתִּי, רַק אֵין יִרְאַת אֱלֹהִים בַּמָּקוֹם הַזֶּה וַהֲרָגוּנִי עַל דְּבַר אִשְׁתִּי. (בראשית כ', יא)

He seems to connect morality to fear of God, as though no morality exists without divine command. But he can be understood differently: fearing God enforces morality rather than God being its source. Without that fear, people would not honor the moral demand.

Immediately after creation, the LORD gives no basic moral prohibitions such as murder, yet the prohibition clearly exists; Cain never pleads that he had not been commanded. After the Flood caused by violence and corruption, however, human expectations change. Initially people were expected to behave properly without explicit commands or external intervention, making commands against murder or requiring enforcement unnecessary. After ten generations, Adam to Noah, humanity’s evil inclinations and need for guidance became evident. Explicit law now had to define and command enforcement of what should have been self-evident:

Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed; for in the image of God made He man. (Genesis 9:6)

שֹׁפֵךְ דַּם הָאָדָם – בָּאָדָם דָּמוֹ יִשָּׁפֵךְ, כִּי בְּצֶלֶם אֱלֹהִים עָשָׂה אֶת הָאָדָם. (בראשית ט', ו)

Moral commands subsequently required increasing detail, first in the Ten Commandments and then in Leviticus 19, which echoes them.

On this reading, Leviticus’s “I am the LORD” need not mean goodness is good only because the LORD commands it. Genesis plainly indicates that morality and justice bind without explicit command. History shows, however, that obligation alone cannot ensure compliance. People struggle to meet moral demands unaided, requiring a supreme authority to make them binding and prevent disregard.

This is the conclusion’s meaning: even when a person acts secretly, or society cannot enforce morality, the LORD sees and holds those acting unjustly to account.