Forty
The religious implications of the number forty are extensive. In Christianity,
there are forty days of Lent, from Christ's forty days in the wilderness; forty
days of resurrection, from Easter to Ascension. In the Old Testament, there are
forty days of Moses on Mt. Sinai, and forty days of Elijah in hiding. There are
forty days of the Deluge, and forty years of the Jews wandering in the wilderness.
In pregnancy, movement in the womb after forty days means a boy. Purification
- the flood was caused by forty days of rain. Jacob's embalming and mourning took
forty days. Moses' life was divided into three periods of forty years.
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