The Jimmy Akin Podcast #077 Elijah’s Journey: 40 Days & 40 Nights? (Bible Numbers) - Jimmy Akin
Mar 30, 2026
A look at biblical stock numbers like 7, 12, 40 and 1,000 and how they carry symbolic weight. A close reading of Elijah’s “40 days and 40 nights” and whether that count is literal. Calculations of ancient travel distances and times to test the literal claim. Reflections on authorial intent and how ancient audiences understood numeric language.
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Biblical Numbers Can Be Symbolic Stock Values
- Biblical numbers often function as stock numbers rather than precise counts.
- Jimmy Akin shows 1,000 in Psalm 50 and English phrases like thanks a million illustrate nonliteral numeric usage.
Forty Signifies A Long Testing Period
- The number 40 in Scripture commonly signals testing or a long period rather than strict accuracy.
- Akin lists flood, Moses on Sinai, and Jesus' fasting as uses that convey thematic meaning, not precise days.
Elijah's Angelic Meal Before His Journey
- 1 Kings 19 recounts God strengthening Elijah so he 'walked forty days and forty nights' to Horeb.
- The narrative includes an angelic visit where Elijah eats twice before embarking on the journey.