Now I know that the Lord is greater than all other gods, for he did this to those who had treated Israel arrogantly. Jethro's conclusion — now I know — is the knowledge that the entire Exodus curriculum was designed to produce. The formulation is careful: not that other gods do not exist, but that the Lord is greater than all of them. The reason given is specific: because of what He did to those who treated Israel arrogantly. The arrogance of Egypt — the slave system, the killing of infants, the nine refusals — has been answered by a God who is greater than every deity Egypt worshipped. Jethro's confession from outside Israel is one of the most remarkable pieces of evidence in the plague narrative's purpose: a Midianite priest hears the testimony and concludes the Lord is supreme.

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