61. The commandments of the law were called "the ten words" (Exodus 34:28; Deuteronomy 4:13; 10:4). This is because "ten" means all and "words" means truths. After all, there were more than ten.

Because "ten" means all, there were ten curtains of the tabernacle (Exodus 26:1). That is why the Lord said that the one who was going to receive a kingdom called ten servants and gave them ten minas for doing business (Luke 19:13). It is why the Lord compared the kingdom of the heavens to ten young women (Matthew 25:1), and why the dragon is described as having ten horns (Revelation 12:3). The same holds true for the beast rising up out of the sea (Revelation 13:1), and the other beast (Revelation 17:3, 7), as well as the beast in Daniel (Daniel 7:7, 20, 24). "Ten" means the same in Leviticus 26:26, Zechariah 8:23, and elsewhere.

That is where "tithes" come from, meaning some portion of all.

62. All Kinds of Murder, Adultery, Theft, and False Witness, Together with Urges toward Them, Are Evils on Which We Must Turn Our Backs Because They Are Sins

IT is common knowledge that the law of Sinai was written on two tablets and that the first tablet contains matters concerning God and the second, matters concerning us. It is not obvious in the literal text that the first tablet contains everything to do with God and that the second contains everything to do with us, but it is all in there. It is actually why they are called "the ten words, " meaning all truths in summary (see 61 just above). However, there is no way to explain briefly how everything is there, though it can be grasped by reference to what is presented in 67 of Teachings on Sacred Scripture, which the reader may consult.

This is the reason for mentioning "all kinds of murder, adultery, theft, and false witness."