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What does the number 40 represent in the Bible?
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I was told that the number "40" represents "a lot of". 40 years = a lot of years, etc. It was a lingo of that time. Another example was "40 thieves of Baghdad". There were many thieves, not necessarily just 40.
In the Bible, Kings David and Solomon both reigned for exactly forty years. The narratives go into great detail about supposed minutiae in the lives of these kings, so it can be said that 40 was really intended to be understood to be the actual years of their reigns.
In the same way, in the story of Noah's Flood the rains came down for forty days and forty nights. there are actually two stories of the Flood and one story has the flood subsiding in just forty days, while the other says that it lasted one year - also an easy number to remember.
The Israelites wandered in the wilderness for forty years during the Exodus. The biblical narrative and lives of the participants necessarily show this to represent an actual timespan. Then, in the Book of Judges, the number of years of peace brought about by each of the major judges, or the number of years of their ruling, is a multiple of 20, except only in the case of Jephthah, who is said to have ruled Israel for only 6 years. Forty was not the only number to represent the judges, and the use of other multiples of 20 no doubt gives an impression of careful accuracy.
In the synoptic gospels, Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness after his baptism. In Acts of the Apostles, Jesus ascended to heaven 40 days after his resurrection, although in Luke's Gospel, by the same author but somewhat earlier, he ascended to heaven on the evening of the day of his resurrection.
The number 40 in the Bible is symbolic of a period of testing. Just as Noah's faith was put to the test of 40 days and nights of rain, the children of Israel being tested in the wilderness for 40 years, and Jesus' fasting of 40 days before he began his public ministry.
Answer
The number 40 was easy to remember and was used when the author or story-teller did not really know the real facts. Forty was certainly an exact number, not just a symbolically large number, "a lot of". Some examples where this is used, with the intention of portraying an exact period of time include:In the Bible, Kings David and Solomon both reigned for exactly forty years. The narratives go into great detail about supposed minutiae in the lives of these kings, so it can be said that 40 was really intended to be understood to be the actual years of their reigns.
In the same way, in the story of Noah's Flood the rains came down for forty days and forty nights. there are actually two stories of the Flood and one story has the flood subsiding in just forty days, while the other says that it lasted one year - also an easy number to remember.
The Israelites wandered in the wilderness for forty years during the Exodus. The biblical narrative and lives of the participants necessarily show this to represent an actual timespan. Then, in the Book of Judges, the number of years of peace brought about by each of the major judges, or the number of years of their ruling, is a multiple of 20, except only in the case of Jephthah, who is said to have ruled Israel for only 6 years. Forty was not the only number to represent the judges, and the use of other multiples of 20 no doubt gives an impression of careful accuracy.
In the synoptic gospels, Jesus spent 40 days in the wilderness after his baptism. In Acts of the Apostles, Jesus ascended to heaven 40 days after his resurrection, although in Luke's Gospel, by the same author but somewhat earlier, he ascended to heaven on the evening of the day of his resurrection.
Answer
The number 40 in the Bible is symbolic of a period of testing. Just as Noah's faith was put to the test of 40 days and nights of rain, the children of Israel being tested in the wilderness for 40 years, and Jesus' fasting of 40 days before he began his public ministry.
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