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Forty Days and Forty Nights (Exodus Chap. 24)
Question
Dear Rabbi,
In the Hebrew Bible, is there added emphasis or significance to the term; "forty days and forty nights" (when Moses fasted on Mt. Sinai prior to him delivering the Torah), as opposed to simply "forty days" (when Moses sent the spies into Canaan). I understand that the context does not always speak in linear time, but I would like to know if there is added meaning to the addition of "forty nights" that is significant, without losing its P'shat.
Thank you for your consideration.
Answer
I did not find a specific commentary on the difference between "forty days" and "forty days and forty nights". Beside this passage (Exodus chap. 24 and the same events recorded in Deuteronomy chap. 9), the expression "forty days and forty nights" is also found in the flood narrative (Genesis 7:4, 12). To note that an event took "forty days and forty nights" gives the reader an impression of a long period. The rain not only fell for for forty days but also for forty nights; Moses remained in God's presence not only for forty days, but also for forty nights. In the case of the spies (Numbers chap. 13), there is no need for the text to state that they were in Canaan at night since it is obvious. In this narrative the important point is that, as a punishment for the Israelites believing the bad things the spies said about the Land of Israel, they would have to wander one year in the desert for every day the spies spent in Canaan, or forty years (see Number 14: 34).
I hope I answered your question,
Rabbi Monique Susskind Goldberg
January 2007
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