THEOSISBeda Venerabilis
The Jews remarked, "This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and you intend to raise it in three days?" (John 2:20). Their response reflected their understanding. To prevent misinterpreting our Lord's words in a literal sense, the evangelist promptly clarified which temple He referred to. The mention of the temple's forty-six years of construction pertains to the second building, not the first. Solomon, who initially built the temple, completed it swiftly—in seven years—during a period of enduring peace in his reign (see 3 Kings 6:38). This first temple was later destroyed by the Chaldeans (see 4 Kings 25:9), but after seventy years, it was reconstructed under Cyrus the Persian's decree, following the end of the captivity (see 1 Ezra 1:1-3).
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The descendants of those exiled were unable to finalize the work led by Zerubbabel and Jesus until forty-six years had passed, as they faced opposition from surrounding nations. This span resonates with the completion of our Lord's physical body. Scholars in natural history proclaim that the human form achieves perfection over this number of days: in the first six days post-conception, it resembles milk; the next nine days, it transitions to blood; after twelve days, it solidifies; over the following eighteen days, it develops the complete features of all its components; and thereafter, it continues to grow until birth. The sum of six, nine, twelve, and eighteen equals forty-five. Including one more day—the day when the body, distinguished into individual members, begins to grow—yields a total of forty-six days for the formation of our Lord’s body, analogous to the years taken for the temple's construction.