Israel (now broader Mid East discussion)
Well, now, I specifically said Cliff notes
Jews don't like the idea of falling off of cliffs. If three words will do it, they will will use 40.
In Hebrew even the numbers are words. This is the way 40 is spelled, "ארבעים" it has meaning as a number, and as a word. As a word 40 means life, growth, or transformation.
Important things take 40 days,,, or 40 years. The rains of the Great Flood lasted for 40 days and nights. Moses with his people wandered in the desert for 40 years.
40,000 is the population of a tribe, or people, even if it's not the actual population.