40 (number)
Forty (40') is a natural number composed of 4 and 0. Zero, occultly read as egg, signifies the conclusion, the completion of a cycle of evolution. Four is the number of maya, the outer appearance.
When the Bible speaks of the number 40, it indicates that maya is overcome, for example through 40 days of fasting in the desert, i.e. in solitude. When the Israelites leave Egypt under the leadership of Moses, they wander through the desert for 40 years before reaching the Promised Land.
On the Mount of Temptation (Arab. جبل الأربعين, DMG Ǧabal al-arbaʿīn, named after the number Forty al-arbaʿīn), which is located in the West Bank a few kilometres outside the city of Jericho, according to Christian tradition, the temptation of Christ is said to have taken place after the baptism of the Jordan after 40 days of fasting in solitude.
Muhammad received his revelation in his 40th year, which was then recorded in the verses of the Quran.
Literature
- Ernst Bindel: Die geistigen Grundlagen der Zahlen, Vlg. Freies Geistesleben, Stuttgart 2003, ISBN 3-7725-1251-8, contents
- Helmut Werner: Lexikon der Numerologie und Zahlenmystik, Komet, ISBN 3-89836-132-2
