And about the time of forty years suffered he their manners in the wilderness.
about.
Acts 7:36,39-43 He brought them out, after that he had shewed wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, and in the Red sea, and in the wilderness forty years…
Exodus 16:2,35 And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness: …
Numbers 14:22,33,34 Because all those men which have seen my glory, and my miracles, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted me now these ten times, and have not hearkened to my voice; …
suffered.
for about forty years
The forty-year period is significant in biblical numerology, often symbolizing a time of testing, trial, and preparation. This duration corresponds to the time the Israelites spent wandering in the wilderness due to their lack of faith and disobedience, as recorded in Numbers 14:33-34. The number forty is also seen in other biblical contexts, such as the forty days and nights of rain during the flood (Genesis 7:12) and Jesus' forty days of fasting in the wilderness (Matthew 4:2), indicating a period of divine testing and preparation.
in the wilderness
The wilderness, or desert, was a harsh and barren environment, symbolizing both physical and spiritual challenges. It served as a place of purification and dependence on God, where the Israelites learned to rely on His provision, such as manna and water from the rock (Exodus 16:4, 17:6). The wilderness journey is a type of the Christian life, representing the believer's journey through trials and reliance on God's guidance. It also foreshadows Jesus' own time in the wilderness, where He was tempted by Satan but remained obedient to God (Matthew 4:1-11).
- Acts 13:18 says, “And for about forty years He endured their conduct in the wilderness”.
- The verse highlights God’s patience. He didn’t abandon Israel despite repeated disobedience.
- Cross references:
• Exodus 34:6 – “The LORD, the LORD God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger…”
• Nehemiah 9:30 – “For many years You were patient with them.”
• 2 Peter 3:9 – God’s patience today mirrors His patience then.
- Israel’s “conduct” included grumbling (Exodus 16:2), idolatry (Exodus 32:1–6), unbelief (Numbers 14:11), and open rebellion (Numbers 16:1–3).
- Yet God continued to provide:
• Manna (Exodus 16:35)
• Water from the rock (Exodus 17:6)
• Guidance by cloud and fire (Exodus 13:21-22).
- Hebrews 3:8-10 reflects on this conduct, warning believers not to harden their hearts.
- The forty-year period was not arbitrary; it matched the time needed for the unbelieving generation to pass (Numbers 14:33-34).
- Forty often marks testing or preparation in Scripture:
• Moses in Midian (Exodus 2:15; Acts 7:30)
• Elijah’s journey to Horeb (1 Kings 19:8)
• Jesus’ temptation (Luke 4:1-2).
- God’s patience spanned the entire testing period, proving His faithfulness from beginning to end.
- The wilderness was a place of both judgment and nurture.
• Judgment: unbelief barred entry into Canaan (Hebrews 3:17-19).
• Nurture: God “carried” them “as a father carries his son” (Deuteronomy 1:31).
- The setting reveals that God’s sustaining grace can meet His people even in barren places (Deuteronomy 8:15-16).
- 1 Corinthians 10:1-6 uses the wilderness story as an example for believers, urging us to avoid Israel’s mistakes while trusting the same faithful God.
Acts 13:18 underscores the Lord’s remarkable patience: He continually bore with Israel’s stubborn behavior for four decades, supplying every need throughout their desert journey. The verse reminds us that while God judges unbelief, He simultaneously sustains and shepherds His people, proving His steadfast love again and again.
(18) Suffered he their manners.--The Greek word so rendered differs by a single letter only from one which signifies "to nurse, to carry, as a father carries his child." Many of the better MSS. versions and early writers give the latter reading, and it obviously falls in far better with the conciliatory drift of St. Paul's teaching than one which implied reproach. The word is found in the Greek of Deuteronomy 1:31 ("bare thee, as a man doth bear his son"), where also some MSS. give the other word, and suggests the inference, already mentioned, that this chapter, as well as Isaiah 1, had been read as one of the lessons for the day.Verse 18. - For about for about, A.V. Suffered he their manners (ἐτροποφόρησεν). This word τροποφορέω, to bear or put up with any one's (perverse) manners, is found nowhere else in the New Testament. But in the Cod. Alex. of the LXX. it is the rendering of Deuteronomy 1:31, instead of ἐτροφόρησεν he bare or carried, as a nursing father carries his child, which is the read of the Cod. Vat. and of the margin of the R.T. here. The Hebrew נָשָׂא is capable of either sense. From this quotation from Deuteronomy it is conjectured that the Par-ashah on this occasion was from Deuteronomy 1, and if the ὕψωσεν of ver. 17 is taken from Isaiah 1, that would seem to have been the Haphtorah, and it is curious that Deuteronomy 1. and Isaiah 1. are read in the synagogues now on the same sabbath (but see note on ver. 17). Forty years is invariably the time assigned to the dwelling in the wilderness (Exodus 16:35; Numbers 14:33, 34; Numbers 32:13; Numbers 33:38; Deuteronomy 1:3; Psalm 95:10, etc.).