What is the meaning of Exodus 18:11?

Now I know

• Jethro’s words move from second-hand reports to first-hand conviction. After hearing Moses recount the plagues and the Red Sea (Exodus 18:8), he responds, “Now I know” (cf. Job 42:5–6, John 4:42).

• Saving acts of God are meant to bring people to personal faith (Psalm 40:3; John 20:31).

• The statement assumes the events recorded are literal history, giving solid ground for belief rather than mere tradition.

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that the LORD is greater than all other gods

• “LORD” (“Yahweh”) stands alone in majesty, eclipsing every pretender (Exodus 15:11; Psalm 95:3; Isaiah 45:5).

• Egyptians worshiped a whole pantheon, yet each plague targeted and humiliated a specific idol (Exodus 12:12).

• Scripture consistently affirms this supremacy—think of Elijah on Carmel (1 Kings 18:36–39) and Paul before the Athenians (Acts 17:23–31).

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for He did this

• Jethro anchors his confession in observable intervention: God “did” mighty deeds, not merely offered ideas (Exodus 3:20; Deuteronomy 4:34).

• The same pattern repeats throughout Scripture—God reveals who He is by what He does (Joshua 2:10–11; Mark 2:10–12).

• Faith is never blind; it is a reasoned response to God’s undeniable actions (Psalm 78:4, Acts 4:20).

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when they treated Israel with arrogance

• Pharaoh hardened his heart and “acted proudly” (Exodus 9:17, Nehemiah 9:10), setting himself against God’s covenant people.

• The Lord opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble (Proverbs 3:34; James 4:6).

• Jethro sees divine justice: arrogance meets judgment, while Israel, the object of contempt, is lifted up (Exodus 14:18, Psalm 136:15).

• The episode foreshadows future deliverances where God humbles oppressors—Babylon (Isaiah 14:13–15) and ultimately the Antichrist (Revelation 19:19–21).

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summary

Exodus 18:11 captures Jethro’s personal awakening: observing the Lord’s decisive acts against Egypt’s proud gods and ruler, he confesses the unrivaled greatness of Yahweh. The verse affirms that real, historical interventions lead to reasoned, saving faith and declare that God always overthrows the arrogance set against His people.