What does the number 10 represent in the Bible?

TEN. Complete ground of. human responsibility. Pharaoh was visited by ten plagues. Ex. 7 — Ex.12. The ten commandments. Ex. 34:28. Abraham gave a tenth of the spoils to Melchisedek. Gen. 14:20. The Israelites gave a tenth to the Levites, and they gave a tenth to the priests. Num. 18:21, 26. Ten virgins went forth to meet the bridegroom. Matt. 25. There were ten servants to whom the pounds were entrusted. Luke 19:13. In the last form of the Roman empire there will be ten kings. Rev. 17:12, 16.

Numbers are used in Holy Scripture with divine significance The frequent occurrence of "seven" and "twelve" in the book of God is sufficient to suggest this to every observant reader. This is scarcely the place in which to show the meaning of all the numerals divinely employed; for our present purpose it is enough to say that "ten" represents the full measure of human responsibility. Thus we have ten commandments in Ex. 20, ten virgins in Matt. 25:1-13, and ten pounds in Luke 19:13. The ten days of Ex. 12:3 speak to us therefore of the ages of responsibility (or probation) which ran their course ere God sent forth His beloved Son to be the Lamb of God, the taker away of the sin of the world.

Ten is the full measure of man's responsibility Godward and man-ward, four representing that which is universal. It sets forth the full measure of probation and testing.

The number ten is notable in connection with the ten commandments and with parts of the sanctuary of Jehovah, particularly the place of His throne, which was situated in a chamber that was a cube of ten. The number implies completeness; having uttered the ten words, Jehovah added no more — He dwelt where all was absolutely equal. So in the ten plagues of Egypt we see a divine fullness of judgment and a, completion of it upon all the gods of Egypt. The number nine was symbolically most important to the Egyptians; it signified "either the gods of a locality or the entire Pantheon."

— “The tenth of the city fell.” The hour of triumph for the witnesses was the hour of retributive justice on the city wherein they had testified, and in which their blood had been wantonly shed. We understand a “tenth”‎ here as signifying a complete judgment. Thus the ten plagues upon Egypt were the sum of Jehovah’s completed judgments upon that land (Ex. 9:14). The ten commandments expressed the full measure of Jehovah’s demands upon His people — the measure of their obedience ‎(Ex. 20).

The different meanings in scripture of the two numbers, 5 and 10 will be found exemplified in the gate and the door. Five commonly indicates some responsibility between man and man, while 10 relates rather to responsibility towards God. Thus five materials compose the image in Dan. 2, representing the highest human responsibility in the rule by man over men. Divine rule over man is expressed in 10 commandments, which epitomise man's responsibility to God. Tithes are rendered to God, but the Egyptians rendered a fifth of their produce from the land to Pharaoh, Gen. 47:24-26. Ten gerahs were given for atonement money by each Israelite to God, i.e., half a shekel, Ex. 30:12, but when Saul would become indebted to Samuel, 1 Sam. 9:8, he gave him as a present five gerahs, i.e., a quarter of a shekel.

Ten generations lay between Adam and Noah. Five is the number of human responsibility; two, that of adequate testimony. Twice five, then, signifies adequate testimony concerning human responsibility. The Ten Commandments formed an adequate test as to man’s ability or otherwise to answer to God’s claims. The human body illustrates the use of the numbers five and ten. We have five senses. We have five fingers on each hand, ten in all, for work. We have five toes on each foot, ten in all, for walking.

It is the figure with its multiple ten that is stamped on the human frame. Five fingers on each hand, ten in all, speaks of human responsibility in work; five toes on each foot, ten in all, our responsibility in walk; the five senses - seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting, feeling - represent the whole range of human receptiveness in its responsibility to God.

Ten is the number that speaks of responsibility Godward, whilst five speak of responsibility manward. There were ten commandments, five commandments regulating our conduct to our fellow-man. To love God and our neighbour is the summing up of man’s responsibility. The numbers ten and five are likewise stamped by a wise Creator upon the human frame. Man has ten fingers and ten toes divided into sets of five, and five senses—all speaking of human responsibility to God and man.

Ten in Scripture is a number connected with responsibility. We have ten fingers on our hands to work with and ten toes on our feet to aid us in walking. Ten is therefore the measure of our capacity for our walk and work. One thousand is 10x10x10. So the thousand pieces would represent a definite return to the Lord according to the full measure of one's responsibility.