ΝΑΜΑΤΑ ΓΛΥΚΥΡΡΟΙΑ: Lent: The Meaning of the Number 40 in the Bible

37 ὁ δὲ εἶπεν, ὁ ποιήσας τὸ ἔλεος μετ' αὐτοῦ. εἶπεν δὲ αὐτῷ ὁ ἰησοῦς, πορεύου καὶ σὺ ποίει ὁμοίως.
38 ἐν δὲ τῷ πορεύεσθαι αὐτοὺς αὐτὸς εἰσῆλθεν εἰς κώμην τινά: γυνὴ δέ τις ὀνόματι μάρθα ὑπεδέξατο αὐτόν.
39 καὶ τῇδε ἦν ἀδελφὴ καλουμένη μαριάμ, [ἣ] καὶ παρακαθεσθεῖσα πρὸς τοὺς πόδας τοῦ κυρίου ἤκουεν τὸν λόγον αὐτοῦ.
40 ἡ δὲ μάρθα περιεσπᾶτο περὶ πολλὴν διακονίαν: ἐπιστᾶσα δὲ εἶπεν, κύριε, οὐ μέλει σοι ὅτι ἡ ἀδελφή μου μόνην με κατέλιπεν διακονεῖν; εἰπὲ οὖν αὐτῇ ἵνα μοι συναντιλάβηται.
41 ἀποκριθεὶς δὲ εἶπεν αὐτῇ ὁ κύριος, μάρθα μάρθα, μεριμνᾷς καὶ θορυβάζῃ περὶ πολλά,
42 ἑνὸς δέ ἐστιν χρεία: μαριὰμ γὰρ τὴν ἀγαθὴν μερίδα ἐξελέξατο ἥτις οὐκ ἀφαιρεθήσεται αὐτῆς.

Δευτέρα 14 Μαρτίου 2011

Lent: The Meaning of the Number 40 in the Bible

Canterbury Tales by Taylor Marshall

In Sacred Scripture, the number forty is a sign of penance:
God made it rain for forty days and forty nights in the days of Noah (Gen 7:4 - by the way they only ate fish on the ark, not meat)
Moses spent forty days fasting on Mount Sinai with God (Exodus 24:18)
The People of Israel people wandered forty years traveling to the Promised Land (Numbers 14:33)
Elijah spent forty days and forty nights walking to Mount Horeb (1 Kings 19:8)
Jonah prophesied forty days of judgment for Nineveh to repent (Jonah 3:4).
Jesus fasted for forty days days in the wilderness, and was tempted by the devil (Matthew 4:1-2, Mark 1:12-13, Luke 4:1-2)
Jesus was also in the tomb for about forty hours.