The time period of "Forty Days" is used many times in the Bible. From Moses, Noah, Jonah to Jesus and a

Question

couple of other places. What do you think makes the number 'forty' significant? I read that it is the number of days for embalming, but beyond that I can find nothing significant. This is a sincere question. (Most of the regulars know I am an Atheist)

Answer 1

early astronomers appear to have once time tracked a cycle of 40 days for calendric purposes. The ancients appear to have also revered and celebrated this cycle in the practice of religion.

a fixed number of solar-day units can effectively be correlated to the rate of each passing solar year. This correlation or cross-reference only requires that each passing 40th day (9.131055 days per year on average) always be counted apart from all of the other days (or those days counted as annual days or calendar days).


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A PERFECT 9-YEAR CALENDAR *
_____________________________________

Renewal = 1 day
Year 1 = 356 days
Year 2 = 356 days
Year 3 = 356 days
Year 4 = 356 days
Year 5 = 356 days
Year 6 = 356 days
Year 7 = 356 days
Year 8 = 356 days
Year 9 = 356 days

* - Each 40th day (a perpetual rate)
must be leaped or intercalated
apart from days comprising the
the cited calendar count.

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Calendar count = 3205.00000 days
40th (uncounted rate) = 82.17949 days
Average 9-year rate = 3287.17949 days

Annual calendar rate = 365.24217 days
Actual solar-year rate = 365.24219 days
Average difference = 2 seconds (!!!)

Many ancient civilizations (jews, Egyptians, etc) used a calendar based on 9 years and many time periods fo the bible work on this same system.

Answer 2

I am not sure what the significance of forty days is. Forty days seems to have an implied religious meaning, but I am not sure what it is. It is interesting to note that the word 'quarantine' comes from the Italian word meaning 'forty days.' The Catholic church thought this was a sufficient amount of time to isolate a diseased area.
You have to remember that the Bible was not written last year by an American. Ancient Man may have known or believed something about forty days that we do not today. I read a book a long time ago that said forty had something to do with a square. You may be better off asking a mathematician or ancient historian.for a good answer. If you ask a theologian nicely enough he could give you a good answer, too. As a Christian, I am mildly interested in this question as well. To find the answers, sometimes you have to search in places you would rather avoid. Follow the truth, even if it goes in a direction you don't want to go. God bless.

WaymoreP-
You made a common mistake. A 'score' means 'twenty years.' Lincoln was talking about something that happened eighty-seven years ago (4 x 20 + 7 = 87), not forty-seven years ago.

Answer 3

I don't know of any significance to it, however the Babylonian Talmud indicates that prisoners were "paraded" and the crowd asked if any would speak for them [not to be stoned] for a period of 40 days. This process was recorded for a Jesus.

Wonder if this 40 days is the genesis for the 40 days of temptation, or if both derive from whatever significance 40 has.

Answer 4

Some ancient Middle Eastern cultures often stopped counting after a certain point, and used the number 40 as another way of saying "many." So Noah was actually on the ark for "many" days and nights. Once again, we've taken the wording of the Bible out of context and reworked it to fit our modern language. We tend to misinterpret--in the original language, Moses crossed the "Sea of Reeds," which is a marshy area far south of the Red Sea.

Answer 5

Numbers if you notice are every where in the bible...God uses them for a purpose,,I can't say why on some but like 7 is His number,6 is for man 8 is for new beginnings...look at how many days it took before Jesus was raised from the dead 3 days and then look at Jonah while He was in the belly of the whale 3 days...I noticed also when I pray most times my prayer are answered in 3 days...Gods day is like a thousand years to us...I hope you find this answer and post it please..God Bless...

Answer 6

My interpretation of this is a fairly long period of time.
Often the writers of the scriptures applied metaphorical terminology to Biblical descriptions. This is still practiced to date! See-News articles.
One of my favorite 40`s comes from Abraham Lincoln`s Guettysberg Address-Four Score (40) and 7 years ago....

Answer 7

The time period "forty days and forty nights" isn't literal. It is just an expression that means for a long period of time.

Answer 8

Forty is the biblical number of judgement and testing.

Answer 9

I don't know... but the old ladies at the bingo hall used to go nuts every time 40 came up.

Answer 10

I have noticed it several times also; while I do not currently know the definitve answer; I am sure it has to do with testing, and perhaps transition.