Cultural Reference of #10 List

Astronomy

• The New General Catalogue object NGC 10, a magnitude 12.5 spiral galaxy in the constellation Sculptor.

• Messier object M10, a magnitude 6.4 globular cluster in the constellation Ophiuchus.

In religion and philosophy

Bible

• The Ten Commandments of Exodus and Deuteronomy are considered a cornerstone of Judaism and Christianity.
• People traditionally tithed one-tenth of their produce. The practice of tithing is still common in Christian churches today, though it is disputed in some circles as to whether or not it is required of Christians.

Judaism

• In Deuteronomy 26:12, the Torah commands Jews to give one-tenth of their produce to the poor (Maaser Ani). From this verse and from an earlier verse (Deut. 14:22) there derives a practice for Jews to give one-tenth of all earnings to the poor.

• Ten Plagues were inflicted on Egypt in Exodus 7–12.
• Jews observe the annual Ten Days of Repentance beginning on Rosh Hashanah and ending on Yom Kippur.

• In Jewish liturgy, Ten Martyrs are singled out as a group.
• There are said to be Ten Lost Tribes of Israel (those other than Judah and Benjamin).

• There are Ten Sephirot in the Kabbalistic Tree of Life.
• In Judaism, ten men are the required quorum, called a minyan, for prayer services.
• Interpretations of Genesis in Talmudic and Midrashic teachings suggest that on the first day, God drew forth ten primal elements from the abyss in order to construct all of Creation: Heaven (or Fire), Earth, Chaos, Void, Light, Darkness, Wind (or Spirit), Water, Day, and Night. See also Bereshit (parsha).

Christianity

• Jesus tells the Parable of the Ten Virgins in Matthew 25:1–13.

Pythagorean

• In Pythagoreanism, the number 10 played an important role and was symbolized by the tetractys.

Hindu

• In Hinduism, Lord Vishnu appeared on the earth in 10 incarnations, popularly known as Dashaavathar.

Sikh

• In Sikhism, there are ten human Gurus.