--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The most enduring Top 10 ever written…" description: "\"The most enduring Top 10 ever written wasn't written at all, but chiseled onto stone tablets and conveyed down Mount Sinai by Moses, who introduced to ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/26c/steve-rushin-3791_moses_the-most-enduring-top-10-ever-written-wa_1912003.png" --- # The most enduring Top 10 ever written wasn't written at… ![“The most enduring Top 10 ever written wasn't written at all, but chiseled onto stone tablets and conveyed down Mount Sinai by Moses, who introduced to the world not just a set of Biblical precepts but also a new format for starting arguments: the list of 10 things.” quote by Steve Rushin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/26c/steve-rushin-3791_moses_the-most-enduring-top-10-ever-written-wa_1912003.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/26c/steve-rushin-3791_moses_the-most-enduring-top-10-ever-written-wa_1912003.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/26c/steve-rushin-3791_moses_the-most-enduring-top-10-ever-written-wa_1912003.png) > “The most enduring Top 10 ever written wasn't written at all, but chiseled onto stone tablets and conveyed down Mount Sinai by Moses, who introduced to the world not just a set of Biblical precepts but also a new format for starting arguments: the list of 10 things.” [Steve Rushin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-rushin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Lists like the Ten Commandments provide a clear, memorable framework that shapes arguments and values. **In simple terms:** Lists give structure and lasting impact. Key Takeaway Use concise lists to clarify ideas. Themes structure tradition communication Mood analytical educational Type explanatory reflective When to use this quote - teaching - presentations - writing outlines Key Concepts rhetoric cognitive psychology religion Questions to Reflect On - How can lists both help and hinder understanding? - When is a list inappropriate? A Different Perspective Over‑reliance on lists can oversimplify complex issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Moses](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moses/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [ While the Passover narrative \[in Exodus\] energizes Israel's imagination toward justice, Israel's hard work of implementation of that imaginative scenario was done at Mt.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-brueggemann/while-the-passover-narrative-in-exodus-energizes-israel-s-imagination/) [Walter Brueggemann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-brueggemann/) > [“ROM3.10 As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one:  ROM3.11 There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/rom3-10-as-it-is-written-there-is-none-righteous-no-not-one-rom3-11/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm usually working on eight or 10 things at once.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-prelutsky/i-m-usually-working-on-eight-or-10-things-at-once/) [Jack Prelutsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-prelutsky/) > [If you blink your eyes or go get a Coke, you've missed 10 things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-cooper/if-you-blink-your-eyes-or-go-get-a-coke-you-ve-missed-10-things/) [Alice Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-cooper/) > [“10 things to know about Syn 1. I hate people, even myself. 2. I only tolerate my friends and I can count those on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/10-things-to-know-about-syn-1-i-hate-people-even-myself-2-i-only/) [Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/) > [IMPOSSIBILITIES OF THE WORLD: ~You can't count your hair~ ~You can't wash your eyes with soap~ ~You can't breathe when your tongue is out~…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/impossibilities-of-the-world-you-can-t-count-your-hair-you-can-t-wash/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [10 Things to Live by. 1. The only unreachable dream is the one you dont reach for. 2. Everything happens for a reason. Go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/10-things-to-live-by-1-the-only-unreachable-dream-is-the-one-you-dont/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [“You say 10 things, you say nothing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chip-heath-and-dan-heath/you-say-10-things-you-say-nothing/) [Chip Heath and Dan Heath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chip-heath-and-dan-heath/) > [Out of 10 things that happen to me everyday, 11 are bad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/out-of-10-things-that-happen-to-me-everyday-11-are-bad/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Write down 10 things you would do in your life if you had absolutely no fear. Then pick one of them and do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-chandler/write-down-10-things-you-would-do-in-your-life-if-you-had-absolutely/) [Steve Chandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-chandler/) > [“I wish I could describe The 10 to you but I can’t. It’s mostly things you can’t describe that make a guy a 10…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-a-h-elliott/i-wish-i-could-describe-the-10-to-you-but-i-can-t-it-s-mostly-things/) [Laura A.H. Elliott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-a-h-elliott/) > [If you develop 10 things, and you can get two or three made, that's a very high ration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judd-apatow/if-you-develop-10-things-and-you-can-get-two-or-three-made-that-s-a/) [Judd Apatow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judd-apatow/) > [Top 10 Things to do at the Mall 10. At the bottom of an escalator, scream MY SHOELACES! AAAGH! 9. At the stylist, ask…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nate/top-10-things-to-do-at-the-mall-10-at-the-bottom-of-an-escalator/) [Nate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nate/) > [Frazzled and delirious, as I've just finished a new book of stories. I feel like Moses staggering down the mountainside with the tablets of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-barry/frazzled-and-delirious-as-i-ve-just-finished-a-new-book-of-stories-i/) [Kevin Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-barry/) > [Humans had run barefoot for millennia, and some still preferred doing so in the modern Stone Age of the mid-20th century, when the handful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-rushin/humans-had-run-barefoot-for-millennia-and-some-still-preferred-doing/) [Steve Rushin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-rushin/) ## More by Steve Rushin > [Outside Buckingham Palace, the Royal Standard flies only when the reigning monarch is in residence. Sadly, there's no similar flag outside The Woods Jupiter,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-rushin/outside-buckingham-palace-the-royal-standard-flies-only-when-the/) [Steve Rushin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-rushin/) > [Because I'm a bald, dim-witted writer, people think I couldn't possibly be her husband, so they occasionally confuse me for someone more glamorous. At…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-rushin/because-i-m-a-bald-dim-witted-writer-people-think-i-couldn-t-possibly/) [Steve Rushin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-rushin/) > [As good as NFL Films is at making players human, it's even better at making players superhuman. No Hollywood studio has made movies that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-rushin/as-good-as-nfl-films-is-at-making-players-human-it-s-even-better-at/) [Steve Rushin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-rushin/) > [I'm a product of the 1970s.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-rushin/i-m-a-product-of-the-1970s/) [Steve Rushin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-rushin/) > [I'm an unabashed sports photo fanboy, the kind of weirdo who seeks out the infinitesimal picture credits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-rushin/i-m-an-unabashed-sports-photo-fanboy-the-kind-of-weirdo-who-seeks-out/) [Steve Rushin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-rushin/) > [I never learned the secret handshake. That may be one of the reasons I've grown to love English soccer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-rushin/i-never-learned-the-secret-handshake-that-may-be-one-of-the-reasons-i/) [Steve Rushin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-rushin/) > [Scarcity drives up demand, and the short golf season in Minnesota makes residents of that state mad for the sport. It's the same reason…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-rushin/scarcity-drives-up-demand-and-the-short-golf-season-in-minnesota/) [Steve Rushin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-rushin/) > [The Metrodome was built for football. Fans seated down the third-base line at a baseball game faced centerfield, so that they had to turn…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-rushin/the-metrodome-was-built-for-football-fans-seated-down-the-third-base/) [Steve Rushin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-rushin/) > [After the abrupt death of my mother, Jane, on Sept. 5, 1991, of a disease called amyloidosis, my dad took up golf at 57.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-rushin/after-the-abrupt-death-of-my-mother-jane-on-sept-5-1991-of-a-disease/) [Steve Rushin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-rushin/) > [By the age of 18, the average American has witnessed 200,000 acts of violence on television, most of them occurring during Game 1 of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-rushin/by-the-age-of-18-the-average-american-has-witnessed-200-000-acts-of/) [Steve Rushin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-rushin/) > [“At that hour, a shaft of sunlight shone through stained glass. Which is to say, windows whose glass was comprehensively stained—by a double-glazing of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-rushin/at-that-hour-a-shaft-of-sunlight-shone-through-stained-glass-which-is/) [Steve Rushin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-rushin/) > [As life speeds by, nostalgia has a shorter pregnancy. Games still in progress are given the straight-to-sepia status of "Instant Classics" no matter how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-rushin/as-life-speeds-by-nostalgia-has-a-shorter-pregnancy-games-still-in/) [Steve Rushin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-rushin/) > [Headline writers love the phrase 'Power Grab,' but you can't really grab it, can you? Power is a greased watermelon, a wisp of smoke,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-rushin/headline-writers-love-the-phrase-power-grab-but-you-can-t-really-grab/) [Steve Rushin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-rushin/) > [All kingdoms look small through an airplane window - little dominions built on quicksand. But looking up from the ground, where most of us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-rushin/all-kingdoms-look-small-through-an-airplane-window-little-dominions/) [Steve Rushin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-rushin/) > [“Madman Muntz was a wildly successful automobile salesman who had pioneered the loud television hard sell to move cars off his lot.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-rushin/madman-muntz-was-a-wildly-successful-automobile-salesman-who-had/) [Steve Rushin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-rushin/) [Explore all 122 Steve Rushin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-rushin/) ## More Moses quotes > [If I'm out of my mind, it's all right with me, thought Moses Herzog.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/if-i-m-out-of-my-mind-it-s-all-right-with-me-thought-moses-herzog/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [Moses became America's true founding father because he evangelized action; he justified risk. He gave ordinary people the courage to live with uncertainty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-feiler/moses-became-america-s-true-founding-father-because-he-evangelized/) [Bruce Feiler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-feiler/) > [Too long have the workers of the world waited for some Moses to lead them out of bondage. I would not lead you out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-v-debs/too-long-have-the-workers-of-the-world-waited-for-some-moses-to-lead/) [Eugene V. Debs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-v-debs/) > [“Love to Israel, such as Moses and Paul felt, is a ray from that ineffable ocean of light which is in God.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalton-lifsey/love-to-israel-such-as-moses-and-paul-felt-is-a-ray-from-that/) [Dalton Lifsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalton-lifsey/) > [The great spiritual geniuses, whether it was Moses, Buddha, Plato, Socrates, Jesus, or Emerson… have taught man to look within himself to find God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-holmes/the-great-spiritual-geniuses-whether-it-was-moses-buddha-plato/) [Ernest Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-holmes/) > [Moses was a great leader, right? But he wasn't a great communicator. And so God sent him Aaron so he could, let's say, communicate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/javier-milei/moses-was-a-great-leader-right-but-he-wasn-t-a-great-communicator-and/) [Javier Milei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/javier-milei/) > [“king of Heshbon. 6 b Moses, the servant of the”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/king-of-heshbon-6-b-moses-the-servant-of-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'll start with the reality. If we're having problems nationally, we're having problems on the state level and then on the local level, what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-farrakhan/i-ll-start-with-the-reality-if-we-re-having-problems-nationally-we-re/) [Louis Farrakhan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-farrakhan/) > [I walk out into a nature such as the old prophets and poets Menu, Moses, Homer, Chaucer, walked in. You may name it America,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-walk-out-into-a-nature-such-as-the-old-prophets-and-poets-menu/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [“Mungu hutumia watu 'wajinga' na 'wapumbavu' kufanya mambo makubwa katika maisha yao na ya watu wengine. Katika Biblia, Musa aliitwa mjinga alipokiuka amri ya…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enock-maregesi/mungu-hutumia-watu-wajinga-na-wapumbavu-kufanya-mambo-makubwa-katika/) [Enock Maregesi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enock-maregesi/) > [But take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law, which Moses the servant of the LORD charged you, to love the LORD…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-morell/but-take-diligent-heed-to-do-the-commandment-and-the-law-which-moses/) Thomas Morell > [Frazzled and delirious, as I've just finished a new book of stories. I feel like Moses staggering down the mountainside with the tablets of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-barry/frazzled-and-delirious-as-i-ve-just-finished-a-new-book-of-stories-i/) [Kevin Barry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-barry/) > [I'm not saying everything out there is bad and toxic, but there are some things that are not scriptural. For example, some people don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-prince/i-m-not-saying-everything-out-there-is-bad-and-toxic-but-there-are/) [Joseph Prince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-prince/) > [I used to think like Moses. That knocked me down for a couple years and put me in prison. Then I start thinking like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-brown/i-used-to-think-like-moses-that-knocked-me-down-for-a-couple-years/) [James Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-brown/) > [Back in Khufu's day I knew a magician who parted the Nile just so he could climb to the bottom and retrieve a girl's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/back-in-khufu-s-day-i-knew-a-magician-who-parted-the-nile-just-so-he/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) [Browse all 475 Moses quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moses/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The most enduring Top 10 ever written wasn't written at all, but chiseled onto stone tablets and conveyed down Mount Sinai by Moses, who introduced to the world not just a set of Biblical precepts but also a new format for starting arguments: the list of 10 things.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Steve Rushin" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-rushin/the-most-enduring-top-10-ever-written-wasn-t-written-at-all-but/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Moses" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-rushin/the-most-enduring-top-10-ever-written-wasn-t-written-at-all-but/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/26c/steve-rushin-3791_moses_the-most-enduring-top-10-ever-written-wa_1912003.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/26c/steve-rushin-3791_moses_the-most-enduring-top-10-ever-written-wa_1912003.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/26c/steve-rushin-3791_moses_the-most-enduring-top-10-ever-written-wa_1912003.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The most enduring Top 10 ever written wasn't written at all, but chiseled onto stone tablets and conveyed…” — Steve Rushin", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Steve Rushin", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-rushin/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The most enduring Top 10 ever...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-rushin/the-most-enduring-top-10-ever-written-wasn-t-written-at-all-but/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-rushin/the-most-enduring-top-10-ever-written-wasn-t-written-at-all-but/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```