THEOSISBeda Venerabilis
The Jewish leaders remarked, "This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and will you erect it in three days?" (John 2:20). Their response reflected their understanding. To prevent us from interpreting our Lord's words in a merely physical sense, the evangelist clarifies which temple He referenced. The mention of the temple's forty-six years of construction pertains to the second temple, not the original. Solomon, who erected the first temple, completed it swiftly—in just seven years—during a time of enduring peace in his reign (See 3 Kings 6:38). This initial temple was destroyed by the Chaldeans (See 4 Kings 25:9), but construction resumed seventy years later under King Cyrus of Persia, who ordered its rebuilding after the exile ended (See 1 Ezra 1:1-3).
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However, the descendants of those exiled could not finish the project initiated by Zerubbabel and Jesus until forty-six years had passed due to opposition from surrounding nations. This duration notably aligns with the completion of our Lord's physical form. Scholars of natural history suggest that the human body reaches its full development in this number of days. In the first six days post-conception, it takes on a milky form; in the next nine days, it transforms into blood; after twelve days, it becomes solid; and over the final eighteen days, it acquires the complete features of its members; then it continues to grow until birth. The sum of six, nine, twelve, and eighteen totals forty-five. By adding one day—symbolizing the moment when the body, composed of distinct parts, begins its growth—we find that the number of days representing the formation of our Lord's body corresponds with the forty-six years taken to build the temple.