I tend to take things quite literally, yet I love symbolism. So, when I was young in the gospel, I always thought forty days were 40 days. But I have come to appreciate the symbolism of objects and numbers in the scriptures. Forty is a symbolic number representing a period of time of trial or probation before a great event. It could be any number of actual days and nights. When you read forty days or forty years, look at what is coming after that time period. Come to think of it women are pregnant for 40 weeks. Well, that’s a term pregnancy; actually, we tend to give birth around 40 weeks. But it is usually a time of trial, suffering, and, if you’re like me, a lot of barfing.
Here are just a few examples of the number 40 in the Bible and the Book of Mormon.
Forty Days, Forty Years in the Bible
- Rain fell for 40 days and 40 nights during the flood, after which Noah and his family begin life in a cleansed world. (Genesis 7:4)
- After Jacob (Israel) died, he was embalmed for 40 days. (Genesis 50:3)
- The Israelites wandered for 40 years in the wilderness. (Numbers 32:13)
- Moses spoke with God for 40 days and 40 nights upon Mount Sinai, after which God gave him the stone commandments. (Deuteronomy 9:11)
- Elijah sojourned in the wilderness for 40 days until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. (1 Kings 19:8).
- God commanded Ezekiel to lie on his right side for forty days to represent the forty years of the sin of Judah. (Ezekiel 4:5)
- Every morning for 40 days, Goliath approached the army of Israel. (1 Samuel 17:16)
- Jesus fasted in the wilderness for 40 days and was tempted by the devil before coming forth in the Spirit of Power. (Matt 4:2)
Forty Days, Forty Years in The Book of Mormon
- Nephi writes that after they had separated from the Lamanites in the space of 40 years, they had contention. (2Nephi 5:34)
- Ammon wandered in the wilderness 40 days before finding King Limhi and his people. (Mosiah 7:4–5)
Originally posted Feb 2019. Updated Aug 2021.
