The number 40 in gematria
Significance in the sources
מ (mem) is 40, and forty is one of the most frequent round numbers in the Bible:
- The rain of the flood fell for forty days and forty nights (Genesis 7:12).
- Moses was on the mountain forty days and forty nights (Exodus 24:18).
- Israel wandered forty years, a year for each day the spies were in the land (Numbers 14:33–34).
- A court could impose up to forty lashes (Deuteronomy 25:3), which the Mishnah rules means “forty less one” (Mishnah Makkot 3:10).
- A mikveh, a ritual bath, must hold forty se’ah of water (Mishnah Mikvaot 1:7).
Hebrew words with the value 40
| Word | Strong’s gloss | Strong’s no. |
|---|---|---|
| בָּחַל בחל | loath | H973 |
| גָּזַל גזל | pluck off, flay, strip; robbery, plunder; plunder, violence | H1497, H1498, H1499 |
| וָלָד ולד | boy | H2056 |
| חָבַל חבל | wind, bind, pledge; ruin; rope, line, district; harm; pawn; sailor; mast (Aramaic) | H2254, H2255, H2256, H2257, H2258, H2259, H2260 |
| חֶלֶב חלב | fat, richest, choice; milk, richness | H2459, H2461 |
| טָלָא טלא | cover, spot, variegate; lamb | H2921, H2922 |
| לָאַט לאט | muffle; muffled, silently | H3813, H3814 |
| לָהַהּ להה | be rabid, languish | H3856 |
Names with the value 40
- אכזיב Akzib H392
- בלגה Bilgah H1083
- בלדד Bildad H1085
- חלב Cheleb H2460
- יחזיה Jachzejah H3167
- לוד Lud H3865
Words and glosses: Strong’s Hebrew Dictionary via the Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon (CC BY 4.0). Values are for the consonants only; vowel points are ignored. Check any of them in the calculator, for example בחל, גזל, ולד.
About the number 40
- 40 = 2 × 2 × 2 × 5.
- Its digit sum reduces to 4 (Mispar Katan Mispari).
- As a Hebrew numeral, 40 is written מ׳. See Hebrew numerals.
English words with Ordinal value 40
abashed, abbot, ably, acreage, adieu, agreed, alder, amok, ante, any, aqua, backer, barbel, beacon, bebop, beggar, biased, bidet, birch, blanch, blank, bleat, bleep, blue, board, bore, bow, brief, broad, bubo, cachet, canape, candied, capable, charade, chichi, chicle, chit, chock, cliche, clip, cloacae, coffee, conga, cord, cream, cup, dandle, dazed, debit, decibel, decree, defy, dish, dive, dogie, dogma, dong, dope, dried and 98 more.
English Ordinal (A = 1 … Z = 26) is a modern cipher with no link to Hebrew gematria; see the English gematria calculator.