Part 2: Do you think the translation of idiomatic phrases has affected some of our understanding of the bible?

Question

For instance I have heard that "40 days" probally was used to refer to a really long time. Similar to the way "a million years" is now.

I wonder how many more of these hidden meanings might we miss?

See link for part 1

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070313091031AADpD83&pa=FYd1D2bwHTHwI7luFOg5Qoq7AOkXVKqc_ZPUdXbAou5TSeJzD2Ul8JErYT0t1euEEA8pM7yJDSPg2w--&paid=asked&msgr_status=

Answer 1

Most but not all translators try to take these into account, buy comparing the text from other period texts and commentaries from the time. I'd suggest looking into how various translations were done and what their priorities and goals were. Another think to look at is how often a given phrase is used like "for 40 days", as far as I know it was only used for the flood and Christ's fast in the wilderness. This makes it unlikely for it to be an idiom.