Luke 4:1-13<\/a><\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
The number forty\u00a0often seems to be connected with\u00a0a period of testing in the Bible, with a time of trial or probation. Moses, for example,\u00a0lived for forty years in Egypt and then for forty years in the Sinai desert before he was called\u00a0to lead the Hebrews\u00a0out of bondage. \u00a0Then, he went up\u00a0onto Mount Sinai for forty days and nights on two separate occasions (Exodus 24:18, 34:1-28), receiving God\u2019s laws. He also sent spies to investigate the land of Canaan for forty days\u00a0(Numbers 13:25, 14:34).<\/p>\n
The prophet Jonah warned Nineveh for forty days that the city would be destroyed if it didn\u2019t repent. The prophet Ezekiel laid on his right side for forty\u00a0days in order to symbolically represent Judah\u2019s sins (Ezekiel 4:6). Elijah went without food or water for forty days at Mount Horeb. And, of course, in today\u2019s readings Jesus was tempted by the devil during forty days\u00a0and nights of fasting\u00a0immediately before the commencement of his ministry. \u00a0And, later, he\u2019ll appear\u00a0to his disciples and others for forty\u00a0days after his resurrection from the dead.<\/p>\n
The children of Israel wandered in the wilderness for forty\u00a0years before a new generation was allowed to possess the promised land. \u00a0According to Genesis 7:12, the rain of Noah\u2019s flood continued for forty days and forty nights. \u00a0I suppose that that could also and quite reasonably be considered a time of trial, probation, and testing.<\/p>\n
Is forty an accurate or precise number? \u00a0Maybe. \u00a0Maybe not. \u00a0Forty days would be an awfully long time for anybody, even the mortal Jesus, to go without food. \u00a0It may (think of Ali Baba and his forty thieves) simply be a Middle Eastern colloquialism for \u201cmany.\u201d \u00a0But who knows?<\/p>\n
There\u2019s disagreement about what the expression\u00a0the pinnacle of the temple<\/em>\u00a0(\u03c4\u1f78 \u03c0\u03c4\u03b5\u03c1\u03cd\u03b3\u03b9\u03bf\u03bd \u03c4\u03bf\u1fe6 \u1f31\u03b5\u03c1\u03bf\u1fe6) might mean. \u00a0(\u03c0\u03c4\u03b5\u03c1\u03cd\u03b3\u03b9\u03bf\u03bd is simply the Greek equivalent of \u201chighest point.\u201d) \u00a0It could, for example, refer to the very highest point of Herod\u2019s now-long-vanished temple proper, as shown in the first image above. \u00a0Or, alternatively, it could refer to the southeastern corner of Herod\u2019s great temple platform, still essentially standing today, which, as the Kidron Valley drops off toward the east, looms above the road that skirts it and high above the valley below. \u00a0(See it in the lower right corner of the second photograph above.)<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00a0 \u00a0 In Kurt Aland\u2019s Synopsis of the Four Gospels, which\u00a0I\u2019m using as the structural basis (and the Greek text) for my ongoing commentary, Section 19 (Matthew and Luke\u2019s genealogies of Jesus) is equivalent to Section 6, so, for discussion of those name-lists, I simply call your attention to my previous entry: \u00a0 http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/danpeterson\/2014\/12\/16095.html \u00a0 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1019,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16531","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n
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