• Deut 2:7 — For the LORD thy God hath blessed thee in all the works of thy hand: he knoweth thy walking through this great wilderness: these forty years the LORD thy God hath been with thee; thou hast lacked noth
• Deut 8:2 — And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep
• Deut 8:3 — And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but
• Deut 8:4 — Thy raiment waxed not old upon thee, neither did thy foot swell, these forty years.
• Num 14:33 — And your children shall wander in the wilderness forty years, and bear your whoredoms, until your carcases be wasted in the wilderness.

2 Christian traditions affirm this interpretation.

• Patristic · Patristic
• Reformed · Reformed

6 passages from 4 historic works cite scripture this interpretation depends on.

• Catechism of the Catholic Church · 2 passages
• Against Heresies (Adversus Haereses) · 2 passages
• Commentary on the Torah · 1 passage
• Heidelberg Catechism · 1 passage