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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