In Acts 13:18, Paul describes how God 'put up with' or 'bore with' Israel's conduct during the forty years in the wilderness. The term suggests patient endurance of difficult behavior, tolerating rebellion and complaint without immediately destroying the offenders. This divine forbearance becomes a major theme in Israel's history—God's persistent love despite persistent unfaithfulness. Some manuscripts read 'he cared for them' instead, but the sense of patient endurance fits the wilderness narrative's emphasis on Israel's testing of God's patience.