Topical Bible: Forty: Days: Symbolical

◄ Forty: Days: Symbolical ►

Jump to: Nave's • Library • Subtopics • Terms

Topical Encyclopedia

The number forty holds significant symbolic meaning throughout the Bible, often representing periods of testing, trial, and preparation. This number appears in various contexts, each illustrating a divine purpose or a transformative process ordained by God.

1. The Flood: One of the earliest and most notable instances of the number forty is found in the account of Noah's Ark. God caused it to rain for forty days and forty nights to cleanse the earth of its wickedness (Genesis 7:12). This period of rain symbolizes judgment and purification, leading to a new beginning for humanity through Noah and his family.

2. Moses on Mount Sinai: Moses spent forty days and forty nights on Mount Sinai on two separate occasions, receiving the Law from God (Exodus 24:18; 34:28). This time of divine revelation and instruction was crucial for establishing the covenant between God and Israel, marking a foundational moment in the history of God's people.

3. Israel's Wilderness Wandering: The Israelites wandered in the wilderness for forty years as a consequence of their disobedience and lack of faith (Numbers 14:33-34). This period served as a time of testing and refinement, preparing a new generation to enter the Promised Land.

4. Elijah's Journey: The prophet Elijah traveled for forty days and forty nights to reach Mount Horeb, the mountain of God, after fleeing from Jezebel (1 Kings 19:8). This journey was a time of spiritual renewal and preparation for the tasks God had set before him.

5. Jesus' Temptation: In the New Testament, Jesus fasted for forty days and forty nights in the wilderness, where He was tempted by the devil (Matthew 4:2). This period of fasting and temptation was a critical time of preparation for His public ministry, demonstrating His obedience and victory over sin.

6. Post-Resurrection Appearances: After His resurrection, Jesus appeared to His disciples over a period of forty days, speaking about the kingdom of God (Acts 1:3). This time was essential for instructing and empowering the apostles before His ascension and the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.

The recurring theme of forty days as a period of testing, preparation, and transformation underscores its symbolic significance in the biblical narrative. Each instance reflects God's sovereign plan and purpose, often leading to a new phase in His redemptive history.

Nave's Topical Index

Ezekiel 4:6
And when you have accomplished them, lie again on your right side, and you shall bear the iniquity of the house of Judah forty days: I have appointed you each day for a year.
Nave's Topical Index

Library

Letter xxxvi. (AD 396. )
... day of the week, when they fasted forty days; so the ... Lord said, "You know that after
two days is the ... a day for fasting, as fasting is symbolical of humiliation ...
/.../augustine/the confessions and letters of st/letter xxxvi a d 396.htm

The Content of Prayer: Its Four Moods
... heavenly things and the earthly shall be added unto you." All symbolical and typical ...
the Lord a second time even as also the former time forty days and forty ...
//christianbookshelf.org/origen/origen on prayer/chapter ix the content of.htm

Jesus Only
... face to face, and rested with him in solemn conclave by the space of forty days
at a ... As I read my Bible I see there that the age of the symbolical, the typical ...
/.../christianbookshelf.org/spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 16 1870/jesus only.htm

Letter Lv. Replies to Questions of Januarius.
... for this life, because in it the creature (of which the symbolical number is ... it is
not without reason that the Lord Himself continued for forty days on this ...
/.../augustine/the confessions and letters of st/letter lv replies to questions.htm

The People on the Earth: Chapters 2-3
... attempt to solve the difficulty by considering the name as being symbolical (as
they ... seven days and I will cause it to rain upon the earth forty days and forty ...
/.../bullinger/commentary on revelation/the people on the earth .htm

The Life of Christ.
... [23:1] By these symbolical discourses He ... Jesus, as the first-born of Mary, was presented
in the temple forty days after His birth; and, as "the first-begotten ...
//christianbookshelf.org/killen/the ancient church/chapter ii the life of.htm

Give us Today Our Needful Bread
... not bread and drank not water forty days, and since ... or assemblies recorded in terms
of days or months or seasons or years have symbolical references to ...
//christianbookshelf.org/origen/origen on prayer/chapter xvii give us today.htm

Catechetical Instruction.
... maintains [91] that S. Augustine here refers only to the symbolical use of ... name
inscribed....A long notice is allowed thee; thou hast forty days for repentance ...
/.../cyril/lectures of s cyril of jerusalem/chapter ii catechetical instruction.htm

Faustus Denies that the Prophets Predicted Christ. Augustin Proves ...
... The dove was sent forth after forty days, a period denoting the ... out of her window
a scarlet line symbolical of blood ... now in the course of the seven days of time ...
/.../faustus denies that the prophets.htm

The Meal at Emmaus
... Lord's relations to His disciples in the interval of these forty days; and I ... of great
spiritual truths; and although the habit of finding symbolical meaning in ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture e/the meal at emmaus.htm