What Does 10 Mean In The Bible?
When it comes to the Bible, the number 10 holds a deeper meaning for many readers. As a number that often appears throughout the Bible, it carries with it a myriad of connotations which can range from the physical to the spiritual. The Hebrew word for ten is ‘asara’, which means itself ‘enumeration’ or ‘testimony’. For this reason, some theologians suggest that the number ten is often used to signify something significant and often carries the idea of completeness with it. Here we will take a look at what this important number might mean in the Bible, and how its connotations shape our understanding of the text.
The first instance of this great number in the old testament is in Exodus, when God delivers the Ten Commandments to Moses on Mount Sinai. This set of rules serves as the basis of Jewish and Christian morality; in this sense, the number of commandments expresses God’s perfect justice, which must be attended to. On another level, scholars suggest that more specifically the number of commandments illustrates ‘the stature’ of God, for being the only one who can impose such absolute justice.
We can further explore the implications of the number ten in the Bible by looking at it in passages that differ from the simplistic relationship between justice and holiness. Psalm 119 is an excellent example, as the entire passage is composed of twenty-two stanzas, each with its own thematic focus and interconnecting significance. The structure of the psalm is based around a set of ten verses that are repeated in each stanza. As such, the psalm illustrates the idea of completeness, while also providing an example of how ten might be used to express this idea.
Though the Bible offers many examples of 10, the most well-known example is the Ten Plagues of Egypt. While the exact number varies depending on how one seperates the plagues in Exodus 7-11, the plagues generally include seven plagues of natural disasters, three angels of punishment from God, and the death of firstborn children. It is thought by many Christian theologians to represent a use of divine retribution to allow God’s chosen people to escape from captivity.
Additionally, in the New Testament, the number 10 appears in the parable of the ten lepers, which illustrates how Jesus’ ministry was reaching out to all regardless of faith. The ten lepers all suffer from a nasty, often contagious skin condition known as leprosy, yet they all seek a cure from Jesus, hoping to be cured based on their faith. This served as a sign to Jesus’ listeners of both his health care reform, and his willingness to embrace the lepers as manifestations of what one could achieve if one believed in the power of the Lord.
We can also see the importance of 10 in the parable of the ten virgins who are waiting for the coming of the bridegroom. In this parable, five of the virgins are wise and bring lamps, while five are foolish and do not. This parable is seen by many as an example of God’s warning against the foolish, for not being prepared for the coming of the Messiah.
10 in Ecclesiastes
We find further resonance in the book of Ecclesiastes wherein the number 10 appears in a series of examples given by the teacher. Each of these examples builds upon the teacher’s main insight, which is that everything eventually returns to dust and is therefore transient. The number 10 is significant here as a symbol of completion and a reminder that, whatever we change in the world, all things ultimately participate in the same pattern of nature.
Though many of us have grown up with a certain preconceived notion of 10 being a complete, exact number, its use in the Bible indicates a much larger notion of importance. In the text, the number 10 is often used to communicate something greater than the sum of its parts; certainly, as we explore the many ways this number appears in the Bible, it is difficult to ignore its true significance as an expression of completeness and testimony.
10 in Ezekiel
In Ezekiel, the number 10 is used to determine the fate of those who are guilty. The prophet is instructed to take two sticks for writing, inscribe the names of Israel and Judah on the two sticks, then break the sticks in two. By doing this Ezekiel demonstrated through a symbolic action what would happen to the two nations should they not repent: that is, they would be separated and scattered. The number 10 signifies the chastisement for wrongful actions, received sentence for crimes committed.
Another occurrence of the number 10 in Ezekiel is in the vision of the four cherubim, where each of the cherubim have four faces and the number 10 is both decorative and functional. It is worth noting that, if the number four is interpreted symbolically here, it could note that the four different Faces of the four cherubim could each be representative of a different type of divine justice.
Finally, Ezekiel also contains a vision which includes four creatures, each named upon its four faces, there being again a very Strong connection between the number 10 and the concepts of judgement and completeness. This is a very common theme presented by the number 10 in the Bible, for the idea of completeness speaks to us of the full authority of God and his ultimate justice.
10 in Luke
The number 10 appears in the gospel of Luke in various forms. For example, the ten lepers referred to above, who come to Jesus asking to be cured. This story serves as a lesson to all in the community to realize their own potential and in the face of difficulties to throw themselves onto the mercy of the Lord. The emphasis on completeness resonates in this passage, for the ten lepers represent the entire human race and all its diverse members.
Another example of 10 in Luke is Jesus’ appointment of the Twelve Apostles, which is in many ways a representation of the ten commandments, for after Jesus selected his closest followers, He went forth to preach and instruct them on the true way of living according to the will of God. In other words, the Ten Commandments are applied to the lives of the Apostles in this case, who were charged with the task of disseminating these teachings to the rest of the world.
The parable of the ten talents is another story where the number 10 works in the background. This parable is a lesson both on the importance of diligence and character, but also on the generous heart of the Lord, for even those who squander their talents can receive forgiveness. Lastly in Luke, the birth of Jesus is also said to occur in time with the census of Caesar, which then was conducted every ten years. In this case, the number 10 quite literally serves as a signifier of the momentous event of Jesus’ birth, and reminds us of the powerful impact it had on humanity, especially those of faith.
10 in Numbers
In the book of Numbers, the number 10 is closely related to with Moses who sends one of the twelve tribes to investigate the land of Canaan. Each tribe is to send one man from every family to investigate, signifying that the people of God were to be united for a divine purpose. Further, the tribes combined were over 10,000 and spent forty days in exile looking for the Promised Land. This suggests that the number 10 symbolizes a connection between the tribes.
Moreover, the number 10 is closely related to the tent of meeting of which Moses was instructed to make ten curtains of finely-twisted linen and blue, purple, and scarlet yarn (Numbers 4). By doing this, the meaning appears to be that a tabernacle is needed in order to bring together the people of God. This is further shown through the ten plagues of Egypt, that the Israelites were freed from their enslavement. The ten plagues are all for the same purpose, to drive out the plagues that held the Israelites in bondage and to remind the people that the Lord their God will love and protect them.
Therefore, looking at the use of number 10 throughout the Bible, it is clear that it is inherently steeped in a unique symbolism that goes beyond its numerical value. As a number of great importance, it particularly indicates a sense of completeness and a unity between followers who, when united, form an unbreakable bond of faith.
10 in the Book of Daniel
The meaning of 10 is particularly striking when looking at the Book of Daniel, where the number 10 often appears in the form of Nebuchadnezzar’s famous dream. In the dream, King Nebuchadnezzar dreamed of a great statue, made of different parts and materials. The statue had a head of gold, chest and arms of silver, waist and thighs of bronze, legs of iron, and feet of partly iron and partly clay. The parts are arranged in a descending order before the clay is eventually smashed, and Daniel interprets the dream as a symbol of different kingdoms, each of them having only a temporary glory until the coming of the everlasting Kingdom of God. Thus, by symbolism, the number 10 is seen to represent a permanent kingdom of God to come.
In the same book, when Nebuchadnezzar approaches Daniel again, asking him to interpret a second dream depicting a succession of four competing kingdoms, the sketch of this dream forms a circle which is completed by the 10th year of the reign of the final king. Like before, Daniel interprets this dream as a symbol of God’s everlasting kingdom; the number 10 here marks the end of a line, whereupon a new system of power begins.
Lastly, Daniel 8 is a vision where the prophet speaks of a ram with two horns, where one horn was longer than the other. In order to further extend its influence, the longer horn abruptly breaks off and four lesser horns sprout in its place. Then, by way of a symbolic explanation of this vision, Daniel concludes that each of these four horns represented four kings, who would reign for ten years. By this it is suggested that the number 10 is symbolic of the fullness of time, 10 years being roughly half of a generation.
