40 days in the Bible - what gives?

the ark- Noah

Jesus being out alone in the desert

what's with the 40 days?

https://www.guideposts.org/inspiration/miracles/gods-grace/the-number-40-in-the-bible#:~:text=%20The%20Number%2040%20in%20the%20Bible%20,of%20Judea’s%20sins%0AThe%20prophet%20Ezekiel%20was...%20More

"“Forty days” means “forty days,” but it does seem that God has chosen this number to help emphasize times of trouble and hardship. " 

and 

" Answer: The number 40 shows up often in the Bible. Because 40 appears so often in contexts dealing with judgment or testing, many scholars understand it to be the number of “probation” or “trial.”. This doesn’t mean that 40 is entirely symbolic; it still has a literal meaning in Scripture. “Forty days” means “forty days,” but it does seem that God has chosen this number to help emphasize times of trouble and hardship." - gotquestions.org

This is actually a specific number of days. 

"After all, it pops up in the Good Book 159 times , across both the Old and New Testaments."   - guideposts.org

This reminds me of a month of probation or a month of test and see what happens.