4 David was thirty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years.

Symbolic Numbers

Israel ate manna, wandered in the wilderness, and bore their iniquities forty years.—(Num. 14:33, 34; Ex. 16:35; Deut. 8:2; Josh. 5:6; Ps. 95:10; Amos 2:10; Heb. 3:9; Acts 13:18.) Saul, David, Solomon, Jehoash, and Joash each reigned forty years.—(2 Sam. 5:4; 1 Kings 11:42; 2 Kings 12:1; 2 Chron. 24:1; Acts 13:21.)

When forty years old Moses visited his brethren, and forty years afterwards the angel of the Lord appeared to him at the bush. Forty years marvels are to be wrought in connection with the restoration of Israel. About forty years elapsed from the beginning of Christ's preaching to the destruction of Jerusalem...

It rained forty days in the deluge. Moses was forty days in the mount, and Christ forty days in the wilderness. Ezekiel was to bear the iniquity of Judah forty days, in the same length of time Nineveh was to have been overthrown had it not repented. Christ fasted forty days and remained forty days on the earth after his resurrection. The ten lavers of the temple contained each forty baths.—(1 Kings 7:28; Gen. 7:4; Ezek, 4:6; Ex. 24:18; Acts 1:3; Matt. 4:2.)

Bro Shuttleworth

The Christadelphian, Nov 1875