For forty days the Philistine came forward every morning and evening and took his stand. – 1 Samuel 17:16

Today's Scripture Reading (May 27, 2025): 1 Samuel 17

Forty is one of those numbers we need to note when we see it in the Bible. Does it mean forty, a number between thirty-nine and forty-one? I don't know, and the reality is that we need to hold loosely any interpretation because forty is one of those numbers that has a meaning beyond being just a number.

Consider just some of the places where we see the number forty in the Bible. It is present in the story of Noah and the Ark, where we are told that it rained for forty days and forty nights (Genesis 7:12). Does that mean that rain fell on the earth for forty days? Maybe, but it might mean something else.

The story of the life of Moses is filled with the number forty. When the lawgiver went up on the mountain to meet with God, Moses was there for forty days and forty nights. "Moses was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights without eating bread or drinking water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant—the Ten Commandments" (Exodus 34:28). We know it is possible to go without eating for forty days, but without water? We are reminded that God can do anything, but that might not be the message Moses intended to convey to the reader in the number forty.

When exploring the Promised Land, Moses sent twelve men into the land, one from each tribe. "At the end of forty days they returned from exploring the land" (Numbers 13:25).

And how long did Israel wander in the desert? "The Lord's anger burned against Israel and he made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until the whole generation of those who had done evil in his sight was gone" (Numbers 32:13).

The list could go on. There are many examples in the Bible of something happening for forty days or years. Sometimes the number could be multiplied by ten and become 400. It might be noted that the time of silence between the end of the Tanakh or Old Testament and the Christian Testament (New Testament) is 400 years, and while that is close, it isn't exact.  

Forty in the Bible is more about the idea of testing than it is about the number. Whenever we read forty, we need to exercise a modicum of caution. Maybe it is true, but more often the number is symbolic of a time trial. Perhaps we could say the COVID-19 pandemic reigned for forty weeks. Technically, it lasted much longer than that, but regardless of what side you were on, it was a time of testing and trial.

So, we need not get hung up on the concept that Goliath came out and stood against Israel for forty days. That might be true, but the real message was that this was a time of testing for Israel, and by doing nothing, Israel was failing the test.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: 1 Samuel 18