5:26
Allah said: “Therefore will the land be out of their reach for forty years: In distraction will they wander through the land: But sorrow thou not over these rebellious people.
According to the biblical narrative, the rebellion of the Israelites—described as repeated acts of defiance—resulted in a significant consequence for that generation. As recorded in the Book of Numbers, the people were condemned to wander in the wilderness for forty years as a punishment for their persistent lack of faith and disobedience (Numbers 14:22). The decree specified that the generation responsible for the rebellion would not enter the Promised Land. Instead, all those who were twenty years of age and older at the time would die in the wilderness, while only the younger generation would eventually reach the land that had been promised (Numbers 14:29).
Following this decree, the Israelites continued their movements through the desert regions surrounding the Sinai Peninsula and the wilderness of Paran. Over the course of forty years, they traveled through various areas to the south, north, and east. Eventually, their route brought them northward along the eastern side of the rift valley region associated with the Dead Sea and the Jordan River, near the area now connected to the Gulf of Aqaba. After the completion of the forty-year period, the new generation crossed the Jordan River near the location of present-day Jericho. By that time, however, Moses, Aaron, and most members of the earlier generation had already passed away.
References:
Yusuf Ali, Abdullah. Translation and Commentary of the Quran.