What is the significance of “40” days or years in the Bible?
Because the number 40 appears so often in contexts dealing with judgment, testing and most of the time a kind of cleansing, some scholars understand it to be the number of “probation” or “trial”. This doesn’t mean that 40 is entirely symbolic; It still has a literal meaning in Scripture. “Forty days” means “forty days,” but it does seem that Jehovah has chosen this number to help emphasize times of trouble and hardship.
Examples of the Bible’s use of the number 40 that follow this pattern mentioned -
When God destroyed the earth with water, He caused it to rain 40 days and 40 nights. - Genesis 7:12
After Moses killed the Egyptian, he fled to Midian, where he spent 40 years in the desert tending flocks. - Acts 7:30
Moses was on Mount Sinai for 40 days and 40 nights. - Exodus 24:18
Moses interceded on Israel’s behalf for 40 days and 40 nights. - Deuteronomy 9:18, 25
The Law specified a maximum number of lashes a man could receive for a crime, setting the limit at 40. - Deuteronomy 25:3
The Israelite spies took 40 days to spy out Canaan. - Numbers 13:25
The Israelites wandered for 40 years. - Deuteronomy 8:2-5
Before Samson’s deliverance, Israel served the Philistines for 40 years. - Judges 13:1
Goliath taunted Saul’s army for 40 days before David arrived to slay him. - 1 Samuel 17:16
When Elijah fled from Jezebel, he ate and then traveled 40 days and 40 nights to Mt. Horeb on the strength of one meal from an angel. Therefore, during the road travel he fasted. - 1 Kings 19:8
Jesus fasted for 40 days and was also tempted during that period by the Devil. - Matthew 4:2
The number 40 also appears in the prophecies of -
Ezekiel 4:6
This was also the same way in which the whole nation of Israel was disciplined when the 10 unfaithful spies misled the people with a false report that made their courage wain. “A day for a year, a year for a day.” - Numbers 14:34
Ezekiel 29:11-13
Jonah 3:4
There were 40 days between Jesus’ resurrection and ascension. - Acts 1:3
Whether or not the number 40 really has any significance of relevance for future “cleansings” is yet to be seen. The Bible definitely seems to use 40 to emphasize a spiritual truth, but I must point out that the Bible nowhere specifically assigns any special meaning to the number 40. These are all literal uses of the number 40, none are symbolic.
Some people place too much significance on numerology, trying to find a special meaning behind every number in the Bible. Often, a number in the Bible is simply a number, including the number 40. God does not call us to search for secret meanings, hidden messages, or codes in the Bible. There is more than enough truth in the plain words of Scripture to meet all our needs and make us “complete and thoroughly equipped for every good work” - 2 Timothy 3:16. However, after reviewing these examples and bringing back to mind that they usually have the pattern of a “cleansing” one way or another. We must admit that there a few cleansings prophesied that are coming up in our relatively near future:
The Great Tribulation -
Cleansing the world of empire of false religion right off the planet.
Armageddon -
Cleansing the world of all forms of government that just don’t work.
1000 year reign of the Christ -
Cleansing sin from our flesh / DNA
The temporary release of Satan and the demons -
Cleansing mankind and spirit realm of the Gog’s and Magog’s and to show once and for all that God’s sovereignty is firmly established.
The Bible doesn’t say for sure, but we as people on the watch and staying awake, may want to look for one or more of these to see if they last 40 days or years.