Paul now proceeds to explain the mystery of Israel’s salvation. He begins by underlining the significance of the following explanation of God’s sovereignty, warning the Gentile believers not to be proud (11:25). The “mystery” that Paul refers to is not a particular secret that only he knows and now reveals. Rather, it is a reference to the divine plan of salvation, which has been hidden but which God now has revealed to his people (cf. Dan. 2:18–19, 27–30; Dead Sea Scrolls, Rule of the Community 3:22–23; 11:3–5; 1 Enoch 103:2; 104:10–12; for Paul see 1 Cor. 15:51; Eph. 1:9; 3:3–4, 9; 5:32; 6:19). The mystery is not a new revelation that Paul has received as he writes chapter 11 and that contradicts his exposition in chapters 9–10. Paul’s exposition of God’s plan of salvation in 11:25–26 f…