The cardinal number ten, feminine form (masculine: asārah). Appears hundreds of times throughout the OT as both literal count and as a symbol of completeness, totality, and the full measure of something.
The number ten in Scripture carries rich covenantal and liturgical significance. The Ten Commandments (aseret hadevarîm) — the Decalogue — are the foundational covenant document of God's relationship with Israel, encoding the complete moral will of God in ten words. The tenth is the tithe — the covenantal portion that belongs to God (Lev. 27:32), a recognition that all we have comes from Him. Ten plagues fell on Egypt — complete divine judgment fully exhausted before redemption came. In the New Testament, the parable of the ten virgins (Matt. 25:1-13) and the ten minas (Luke 19:11-27) use the number to represent complete stewardship — the full allocation of gifts and responsibilities given by God. The ten in Revelation (ten horns, ten diadems) signifies complete worldly power arrayed against God's kingdom. The number ten encodes the biblical theology of full measure — both in grace and in accountability.